Buffinton, Pitcher, Philadelphia, from the series Old Judge Cigarettes 1887

Curator: So, here we have "Buffinton, Pitcher, Philadelphia," a photograph from the series Old Judge Cigarettes, produced by Goodwin & Company in 1887. It's currently housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Editor: My first thought? Nostalgia, plain and simple. Something about that sepia tone, and the earnest, almost hesitant, way he holds that baseball just gets me. Curator: Right. It's fascinating how images like these functioned as early advertisements. Consider the socio-economic context: baseball emerging as a national sport, burgeoning consumer culture, and, of course, the ubiquity of cigarette advertising. Editor: Exactly. He looks almost uncomfortable posing. Like he’d rather be out there on the field. There’s a beautiful kind of tension. That serious face mixed with that…well…those slightly goofy striped stockings. I love it! Curator: He’s presenting a particular brand of masculinity of the era. The image normalizes athleticism but simultaneously aligns it with other forms of consumption—tobacco use being one of the most prevalent and socially accepted. Think about it: these cards were meant to be collected, traded, consumed. Editor: It’s such an interesting intersection of commerce and celebrity. You look at this guy and you think “sports hero!”… but then you see “Old Judge Cigarettes” emblazoned right there, anchoring him back into the everyday, into the product they’re pushing. It almost makes the hero relatable? Curator: The photographic technology also informs how we read this work. These were mass-produced prints and drawings meant to circulate widely. It raises important questions around reproducibility, celebrity culture, and image distribution in the late 19th century. Editor: The simplicity is kind of arresting, too. It isn't staged for some grand spectacle; it just features this guy, caught somewhere between action and a frozen kind of potential. Like right before a pitch, maybe, a breath before the motion. Curator: Agreed. Considering this artwork now, in a world saturated with advertising, forces us to consider the construction of identity and how these types of images contributed to the development of sport as both spectacle and industry. Editor: Well, thinking about where baseball is now compared to back then. There’s something…comforting…almost innocent about this image. No big stadiums or billion-dollar contracts; just this guy, this ball, this moment.