William Theodore "Billy" Crowell, Pitcher, Cleveland, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1887 - 1890

Editor: This albumen print, “William Theodore ‘Billy’ Crowell, Pitcher, Cleveland” from around 1887, is fascinating. There’s something striking about seeing an athlete presented in this very formal way, almost like a cabinet card portrait. It feels staged, commercial even. What can you tell me about this image? Curator: The “Old Judge” series, of which this print is a part, reflects the burgeoning commercialization of baseball and the rise of celebrity culture in late 19th century America. Cigarette companies like Goodwin & Company were key players in this intersection. Editor: So these weren’t just artworks, but promotional items? Curator: Precisely. The mass production and distribution of these cards coincided with a surge in both baseball's popularity and photographic reproduction technologies. Think about the public's hunger for images and how this fueled the industry. Note the studio backdrop, not the field. Editor: That makes sense. Were they trying to elevate these athletes to a different status through portraiture conventions? Curator: Arguably, yes. They utilized established conventions of portraiture to imbue these baseball players with a sense of respectability and fame. But there's also the marketing strategy; associating their product with popular figures in a readily consumable format. How do you think this image participates in shaping public perceptions of sports and athletes? Editor: It’s almost a trade card meets an art object. By blurring those lines, it seems to give both the sport and the player more prestige. I hadn’t considered how intentionally constructed celebrity images were, even back then. Curator: And that construction had specific economic and social drivers. This points to the fascinating interplay between commerce, image-making, and the construction of national pastimes.