Cleveland, 3rd Base, New York, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1888

This small card, made by Goodwin & Company around 1888, presents a baseball player, Cleveland, clinging to what appears to be a base. Observe how this depiction echoes motifs of supplication and grasping found in ancient religious iconography. Think of figures clinging to altars or sacred trees, gestures meant to invoke divine favor or protection. Here, the baseball player's pose, though within the context of sport, taps into a deeper, primal desire for security and success. Consider the evolution of such gestures – from desperate pleas to deities to a baseball player seeking an advantage. The emotional core remains: a striving for connection and triumph over adversity. These images, irrespective of their immediate context, remind us of humanity's enduring quest for ascendancy, echoing through time and culture, surfacing in unexpected forms, still carrying a potency that resonates on a subconscious level.