Dominick McCaffrey, from the Celebrities and Prizefighters series (N174) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1887 - 1888

This is Dominick McCaffrey, a photograph made by Goodwin & Company around the late 19th century as part of a series to promote Old Judge Cigarettes. The material here isn't paint or bronze, but photosensitive paper. It reflects the industrialization of image-making. Think about the social context: Cigarette cards were designed to be collected, traded, and enjoyed as a distraction from daily toil. In this instance, mass production intersected with leisure and marketing, turning McCaffrey into a commodity himself. Consider the labor involved: the posing, the printing, and the distribution of these cards. Photography democratized portraiture, but it also transformed human beings into objects of mass consumption. So, next time you see a vintage baseball card or cigarette insert, remember that it's not just a piece of ephemera – it's a window into a world where industry, entertainment, and identity collided.