William Frederick "Pop" Schriver, Catcher, Philadelphia, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1887 - 1890

Editor: This is a pretty neat photograph, dating from 1887-1890. It's an albumen print of William Frederick "Pop" Schriver, a baseball catcher for Philadelphia. Goodwin & Company made it as part of a series for Old Judge Cigarettes. I’m struck by how stiff the pose is, like he’s been asked to stand perfectly still and now he is stuck that way! What do you make of this picture? Curator: Well, first off, you're spot on with that stiff pose. It’s almost comical, isn’t it? But let's consider *why*. Remember photography then was quite different; longer exposure times meant subjects *had* to hold still. The serious expression combined with the stance… I imagine he’s less 'catcher of dreams' and more 'concerned gentleman momentarily holding an invisible baseball’. Think of it not just as a sports card, but a tiny time capsule. A moment, however contrived, preserved. Do you get a sense of the culture of the time when you see something like this? Editor: I think so! I guess I hadn’t really considered the technical limitations. It’s interesting that something born from advertising also functions as this document of the era. Curator: Exactly! And Goodwin & Company weren’t just selling baseball, or even just cigarettes – they were selling an idea, a lifestyle. This carefully crafted image is part of a larger narrative. It also brings a strangely haunting feeling of a past that feels much further away than the time it depicts. Editor: Definitely! It kind of makes you wonder about Pop Schriver's life, and what he was like outside this very particular pose. Curator: It does, doesn’t it? These old photos can do that. Art can really become this intimate connection to someone you've never even known. Thanks for sparking that connection. Editor: Absolutely, thanks for that journey to 1887.