Boyle, Pitcher, Indianapolis, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1887

Curator: Here we have a striking relic from a bygone era, "Boyle, Pitcher, Indianapolis," part of the "Old Judge" series from 1887, crafted by Goodwin & Company as a promotional item for Old Judge Cigarettes. It's currently housed here at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Editor: It feels so raw, doesn’t it? Almost like a daguerreotype brought into the baseball diamond. The sepia tones give him this ghostly air, frozen in time, bat held ready, like he’s waiting for a signal only he can hear. Curator: Goodwin & Company, they weren’t just selling tobacco. They were essentially packaging aspirations, athleticism, and the burgeoning sport of baseball. Each card a tiny canvas, mass produced and distributed to fuel the growing public obsession with these players. Editor: Exactly. Think of the labor behind each card! From the photographer carefully posing Boyle, to the printing presses churning these out, the hands folding them into the cigarette packs... we're looking at an early, intensely material intersection of sports, commerce, and print technology. It smells like nicotine and newsprint if you ask me. Curator: It makes you wonder about Boyle himself. This isn't just a picture, it's a document of a moment, capturing a player’s hopeful stance—almost biblical if you see the baseball bat as his rod—destined for, well, consumption. In a way, he’s performing for the ages. Editor: Right. And it's also about the *spectacle* being manufactured. It doesn't just represent baseball; it turns a game into an industrialized product through materials: cardboard, ink, photographic emulsion. This Boyle fellow becomes another element feeding that insatiable hunger. Curator: It’s hard not to see the charm, though. These little time capsules. Imperfect. Earnest. These cards allowed ordinary folks to hold a piece of the game, close to their hearts – tucked away in pockets, exchanged like sacred currency, right before lighting up! Editor: Sure, there's charm, but that charm is cleverly packaged with an addiction-for-profit enterprise! This piece speaks volumes about baseball, industrialization, and a country hooked, in more ways than one. Curator: Maybe the romance and the ruthlessness walk hand in hand after all, intertwined. Editor: As inseparable as baseball and… well, you know.