Ryan, Right Field, Chicago, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1887

This is a photographic print from the Old Judge series, created in the United States in 1887, by Goodwin & Company for their cigarette brand. The image shows a baseball player, Ryan, who played right field for Chicago. Consider the cultural status of baseball at this time. It was becoming America's pastime, a focus for civic pride, and an arena for the display of masculine ideals. Here we see how the emerging mass media of photography and printmaking was being used by commercial enterprises to promote both a new form of celebrity and a new culture of consumption. The branding is clear - "Old Judge Cigarettes" - linking the ideals of sporting prowess with the pleasures of smoking. To understand this image fully, we could look into the history of baseball, advertising, and the tobacco industry. By studying these histories, we can better understand the social forces that shaped this artwork and its original audience. The meaning of art is always contingent on its social and institutional context.