Corkhill, Center Field, Brooklyn Bridegrooms, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1888

This is an advertising card for Old Judge Cigarettes, circa 1888, featuring Corkhill, a center fielder for the Brooklyn Bridegrooms. These cards were a product of their time, reflecting the rise of both baseball and mass marketing. Consider for a moment Corkhill's stance, bent over, attentive—a posture perhaps emblematic of the working-class striving idealized in late 19th-century America. The baseball card was a locus where aspirations and commerce met; a token sold alongside cigarettes that now serves as a window into the cultural values of the era. The text at the bottom boldly advertises the 'Old Judge Cigarette Factory', reminding us of the commercial interests that framed the image. While seemingly straightforward, this card invites us to reflect on how identities, like that of an athlete, were packaged and sold. It's a moment frozen in time, capturing the intersections of sport, industry, and the collective imagination of a rapidly changing nation.