Hartman Louis "Doc" Oberlander, Pitcher, Cleveland, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1888

Curator: Sober, almost sepulchral. He could be a Civil War soldier. But, then again, I’m seduced by this monochromatic aesthetic, always. Editor: Absolutely. And it speaks to a particular moment in the visual culture. What we're seeing is a baseball card from the "Old Judge" series, dating back to 1888, featuring Hartman Louis "Doc" Oberlander, a pitcher for Cleveland. It's a print, incorporating photography, produced by Goodwin & Company as an advertisement for their cigarettes. These were really popular back then. They collected them. Curator: Ah, yes! The commodification of the hero figure, right? He's stoic. Is that ball in his hand? What is it with the ball? Is it some reference to an older, almost medieval, symbol—you know, of holding the orb to signify sovereignty? That he, this star athlete, holds this cultural power in this nascent moment of professional sport. It also seems odd seeing a ball player in such long pants. Editor: Interesting point! The baseball as an orb of power—I love that. And about the pants and posture—that rigid formality clashes with our contemporary ideas about athleticism. This was meant for consumption, I mean it was made for advertising tobacco. So, of course it idealizes "Doc" in ways that would be acceptable to a turn-of-the-century consumer. He is almost alien! A perfect posture for the consumer to think about consuming things! Curator: It does offer insight into late 19th-century ideals—a certain kind of virility coupled with restraint. I'm fixated on how an item mass-produced as a commercial piece of ephemera like this ends up having such lasting artistic and cultural resonance. It’s become so totemic. And to imagine, this was meant to be thrown away or just collected. Editor: Totally! And I think its survival highlights our shifting values and how everyday objects can become significant artifacts, markers of identity. But also, how they mirror cultural anxieties or aspirations— like the burgeoning of American athleticism. In this picture it is so formalized that it becomes incredibly suggestive. Like what does "the pitcher" really mean, or refer to. Curator: What an image! What began as an advertisement now offers a window into our cultural psyche. The athlete immortalized as icon. Editor: Precisely! A testament to the layers of meaning embedded within a seemingly simple baseball card.