Peter Jay "Pete" Sweeney, 3rd Base, Washington Nationals, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1889

Curator: The portrait before us depicts Peter Jay "Pete" Sweeney, a 3rd baseman for the Washington Nationals, originating from the Old Judge series (N172) crafted for Old Judge Cigarettes in 1889. It resides within the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. What are your initial thoughts? Editor: It has such a strangely muted tone, and it projects an intriguing blend of exhaustion and intense concentration. The tight crop gives me the feeling I'm crowding him. Curator: Interesting take. Let's delve into the making of the print. Goodwin & Company produced these images. Given its purpose as a cigarette card insert, mass production and material accessibility were prioritized. It is not "high art" but an ephemeral commodity meant for mass consumption. Editor: Exactly. And thinking about it historically, placing these cards inside cigarette packs was more than simple marketing. It capitalized on baseball's growing popularity, shaping the public image of athletes and using them to promote consumption habits and norms in the 19th century. Curator: Indeed. The photographic process and print medium afforded a degree of realism, further cementing its cultural relevance. What I appreciate about this piece is how it bridges commerce, photography, and burgeoning celebrity culture. We see here labor processes intimately connected with commercial outcomes. Editor: I see it too. This is also reflected in the way the card’s imagery promoted specific ideologies of sport as entertainment as much as it represented the individual player or team. Looking closer, you can also trace the influence of portraiture's history on the formal presentation here – posing, composition. That connection with established artistic traditions undoubtedly helped to elevate the status of these figures and the game itself. Curator: Precisely. Even the textual components below – "Old Judge Cigarette Factory, Goodwin & Co., New York” – underscore the industrial infrastructure propping up early baseball imagery. It gives me a more critical reading about the nature of spectatorship and commodity exchange. Editor: Considering its origins and audience gives even a simple promotional print added depth. Curator: Right. It underscores how interwoven art, marketing, and cultural trends are, challenging conventional artistic definitions.