James Edward "Tip" O'Neill, Left Field, St. Louis Browns, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1888

Curator: This albumen print, a photograph really, dating from 1888, depicts James Edward "Tip" O'Neill, a left fielder for the St. Louis Browns. The piece is titled "Old Judge Cigarettes," part of a series by Goodwin & Company. Editor: The sepia tones lend such a nostalgic air. He looks serious, mid-swing. The image itself has such a flat, graphic quality; it’s as much an advertisement as it is a portrait, wouldn't you say? Curator: Absolutely. These were included in cigarette packs, which makes the production process key. Consider the scale of printing, cutting, and inserting these cards! A whole industry fueled by leisure and habit. And albumen printing uses egg whites—so the very stuff of breakfast fueled the image's making! Editor: Speaking of consumption, the Old Judge Cigarettes tie-in certainly dictates how we see O’Neill. He's not just a baseball player; he is a symbol of masculine prowess, enhanced, dare I say, by this tobacco product. Curator: Good point! The semiotics of early baseball are so loaded with ideals of physical strength and social mobility, particularly given who was able to participate. But also, the commercial branding on the card—it reinforces the ties between emerging consumer culture and sports figures, with the cigarettes providing literal context! Editor: Precisely. Even his mustache has this wonderfully crafted symbolic weight! The placement of O’Neill at that perfect swing moment – It signifies potential and striving, ideals accessible to the common man, much like…buying cigarettes. Curator: Thinking about the albumen print itself, one can see the process, the mass manufacture behind the art—quite unlike the heroic oil painting one might associate with this subject! Its democratizing nature lies in its accessibility and broad distribution. Editor: It becomes so fascinating when seeing this athlete presented as an icon in the commercial visual language, how he then perpetuates, quite unintentionally, the myths around not only the sport itself, but an idea of health, wealth, and social access! Curator: A fantastic breakdown! It reminds me of just how integrated marketing and the public persona were even back then. Editor: And on that note, I think it is clear just how rich of a context this card provides to not only this individual, but the time itself!