Clark, Catcher, Brooklyn, from the series Old Judge Cigarettes 1888

Editor: So, here we have “Clark, Catcher, Brooklyn,” a baseball card from the Old Judge Cigarettes series, created around 1888 by Goodwin & Company. It's a photographic print, almost sepia-toned. It really evokes a sense of nostalgia, this kind of old-timey Americana. What leaps out at you when you see it? Curator: It whispers stories, doesn't it? I imagine dusty fields, the crack of the bat… I see more than just a baseball player, I see a slice of burgeoning American culture. This isn't just sport; it's a staged moment of manufactured iconography. Editor: Manufactured? Curator: Absolutely. Consider its original purpose. It’s advertising! To lure buyers into purchasing, the producer relies on celebrity glamour. So, while ostensibly a photo, every element has been fussed over to sell the romance of baseball, of a youthful America. Editor: Oh, I never thought about it that way! Curator: It's also intriguing how the series captured countless players. Before the age of mass media, these cards gave a way for the public to connect to baseball icons. How striking the image is so bare of a narrative arc— the gaze so vacant, expression stilted. Perhaps the moment captured lacks drama? What do you think? Editor: Maybe it is, because in modern photographs, we seek moments of drama! This whole time I had considered it documentation, but now I realize there's manipulation behind every part. Thank you for enlightening me about manufactured icons!