Sullivan, Left Field, Chicago, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1887

Goodwin & Company produced this promotional card for Old Judge Cigarettes, featuring Sullivan of the Chicago baseball team. Notice how the sepia tones saturate the entire card, creating a vintage, almost dreamlike atmosphere. Sullivan is captured mid-action, his body a dynamic interplay of lines and angles. The composition divides the space into distinct zones: the foreground with the player, the middle ground suggesting the baseball field, and the background with abstracted architectural forms. This structured layering hints at the emerging modernist interest in fragmentation and simultaneity, challenging traditional notions of perspective. The text elements aren't just labels; they're integrated into the overall design, disrupting any illusionistic depth. It’s a fascinating blend of commercial imagery and nascent avant-garde sensibilities, where the boundaries between advertising and art begin to blur. The way the card collapses depth and flattens space anticipates later experiments with collage and assemblage.