William E. "Will" Fuller, Catcher, Milwaukee, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1888

Curator: This is "William E. 'Will' Fuller, Catcher, Milwaukee," from the "Old Judge" series, made around 1888 by Goodwin & Company. It combines photography, drawing, and printmaking techniques. Editor: The sepia tones give it a quaint, almost dreamlike quality. His padded chest protector seems so substantial against the faded background. Curator: It's interesting how these baseball cards functioned as both collectibles and advertising. Goodwin & Co., a cigarette factory, used them as inserts in their Old Judge cigarette packs. So the means of distribution become intrinsically linked to capitalist marketing. Editor: Absolutely, these cards served as early forms of consumerism and image culture. We’re not just seeing Will Fuller the baseball player, we're also seeing his image commodified. The photo participates in a larger social game: the rise of spectator sports and its gendered audiences, but also its inherent social exclusions. Curator: Examining the card’s materiality tells us about photographic reproduction in the late 19th century. They likely used albumen prints, known for their sharp detail. Also, the relative uniformity across the entire series reinforces the systematic modes of making the artwork in bulk, almost like early assembly-line art. Editor: I am intrigued by how this small image of a white baseball player from Milwaukee ended up preserved in the Met's collection, now accessible to so many viewers. The journey from a cheap piece of advertisement to the halls of high art speaks to how ideas of what deserves memorializing have radically transformed over time. The fact it's centered around a white, male athlete, also reinforces larger historical inequities regarding access to art and who and what society deems worthy of representation. Curator: Yes, the act of collecting and displaying this piece is itself an act of assigning cultural value, impacting the perception and endurance of not only this card, but those like it. Editor: It prompts critical reflections about how capitalism, image-making, and sports culture are inextricably intertwined, continuing to impact today's socio-political reality. Curator: Indeed, viewing this seemingly simple baseball card through this lens invites critical consideration of its broader economic and industrial implications. Editor: Seeing it presented like this reminds us how a singular image, born from a specific commercial enterprise, speaks to deeper narratives.