White, 3rd Base, Pittsburgh, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1888

Curator: Ah, here we have "White, 3rd Base, Pittsburgh," a baseball card from the Old Judge series, created in 1888 by Goodwin & Company. Editor: It's aged beautifully, hasn’t it? There's something about that sepia tone; a quiet heroism, even in this simple portrait of an athlete. I find my eyes drawn to his posture - a classic defensive stance, weight balanced, ready to spring. Curator: The baseball card itself becomes a cultural artifact, speaking volumes about the commercialization and popularization of baseball during that era. These cards, distributed with cigarettes, turned players into icons. This "White" represents not only himself but an idea, and the very aspiration towards celebrity. Editor: Exactly. The photographic print has been mass-produced and reproduced as cheap commodities. Think of the paper quality, the ink, the machinery used. Goodwin & Co. aren’t just making images, they're participating in a vast network of labor, and it all boils down to this small rectangle we're looking at. And the players get what? Representation of the product more than representation of themselves, even in the photograph, which becomes its own raw material. Curator: He almost appears as a mythic figure from this distance. The very word "Pittsburgh" emblazoned across his chest seems to connect this player with an urban narrative beyond simply the sport of baseball. His baseball uniform functions symbolically almost like heraldry. What's really compelling to consider, in terms of its psychology and meaning for consumers, is that in turn, fans were actively curating and carrying the "White" narrative, piecing these figures together like pieces in a mosaic. Editor: It's about creating an archive, not just of baseball players, but of brands and the American pastime that baseball would become. It is about turning real players into essentially collectible material goods to be bought, traded and sold, tied irrevocably to capitalism. Curator: Looking closely, even his name, "White," functions symbolically - what’s hidden and implied in this descriptor as well during this historic moment? Editor: It also gets us to question the construction of value—a baseball card versus what now? Autographed jerseys? Different processes, vastly different commodities that circulate in new ways in the sports industry today. Curator: Indeed, from heroic symbol to market commodity— quite a trajectory revealed by simply examining this image, even today! Editor: Absolutely! You could trace nearly the whole industry from looking at one tiny sepia picture!