Sunday, Center Field, Chicago, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1887

Curator: This photographic print, dating back to 1887, is titled "Sunday, Center Field, Chicago" and is part of the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes, created by Goodwin & Company. Editor: There’s a simple beauty in this, almost like a daguerreotype but softer. The texture looks… I want to say aged paper? The athlete is caught mid-action, about to catch a baseball, set against a faded urban backdrop. Curator: It’s fascinating how baseball, as a relatively new professional sport at the time, was being so explicitly linked to consumer products. These cards were essentially advertisements packaged with cigarettes, contributing to the rise of baseball’s popularity and celebrity culture. Editor: Exactly! The card as commodity. What’s striking is how raw it appears. This isn’t some posed studio shot, but it gives a sense of capturing labor. You can almost feel the wool of that uniform, see the dirt on the field. Curator: It really democratizes portraiture in a sense, making these athletes accessible. While portraiture had historically been reserved for the wealthy elite, the mass production of photographic prints enabled these images to circulate widely and cheaply. The "Old Judge Cigarettes" branding reinforces that idea, placing the player within reach of average consumers. Editor: I'm curious about the process itself. I am seeing how the limited technology available, the types of cameras and printing techniques, would influence that aesthetic, what steps they would take and if it all would become streamlined over time with demand and how this may have all impacted what photos or players would be available for people to even engage with. Curator: Absolutely. And you're looking at how the technological advancements impacted the creation of this material, also changing the nature of consumption and leisure for people during this time period as well. Editor: Yes, like this artifact is holding so much of what it meant for sports at the time from what we can interpret in a variety of aspects. Curator: A humble advertisement becomes a really rich portal into that period, revealing societal attitudes towards sport, industry, and leisure. Editor: Precisely. It goes beyond a simple depiction; it shows us the tangible relationship between manufacturing, sports, and the development of early advertising.