Tener, Pitcher, Chicago, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1887 - 1890

Curator: Here we have “Tener, Pitcher, Chicago, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes.” It was produced by Goodwin & Company between 1887 and 1890. It’s currently part of the collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Editor: My first impression is of the sepia tone, it gives it a feeling of faded glory, like looking into a time capsule. There is such stillness to the photograph; the textures hint at something from a bygone era. Curator: It's an albumen print, one of many used in the “Old Judge” series to promote the company’s cigarettes. Each card featured a different baseball player and was inserted into cigarette packs as a marketing strategy. Think about how that affected distribution; where these cards circulated. Editor: Exactly, so the value here isn’t simply aesthetic. These were mass-produced and traded. Consider the impact these portraits had on popularizing baseball, essentially creating a visual language for the sport through cheap, widely available materials. It’s a fascinating example of the intersection of industry, consumerism, and sports. Curator: Precisely. Think about the socio-political context. Baseball was quickly becoming a national pastime and images like these were tools in crafting these idealized figures of American masculinity and athleticism. But who got to participate, who was excluded? How did segregation shape access to the sport, and subsequently, representation in such widely disseminated imagery? Editor: And beyond baseball itself, this photograph really highlights the ways the media –even nascent forms like these cigarette cards –shapes public perception, then and now. How corporate interests influenced the creation and distribution of those images to solidify the game. Curator: Absolutely, seeing Tener now reminds us of those commercial roots, prompting a broader look at the commodification of sports. It goes beyond this being "just" a vintage card; its importance lives in all the connected industries that fed off each other and built this iconography. Editor: Definitely. It prompts consideration of materiality – the photograph itself, the cigarette pack, the hands that exchanged and collected it – reflecting both cultural values and economic activity during a pivotal era in American history. Curator: A valuable lens for re-evaluating assumptions we have of players and teams today. Editor: I agree. A quiet window into the louder narratives constantly told about sports.