William Smith "Billy" O'Brien, 1st Base, Washington Nationals, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1887 - 1890

Curator: Up next we have a collotype from between 1887 and 1890, an albumen print that features William Smith "Billy" O'Brien, a first baseman for the Washington Nationals. These were distributed as part of the Old Judge Cigarettes series. Editor: It’s the sepia tones, they cast such a warm nostalgia. He’s poised, almost reverent in his stance above the ball, like an athlete captured in amber. Curator: These baseball cards circulated in a specific historical moment when the sport was professionalizing but also becoming deeply entwined with consumer culture, with players becoming both laborers and public figures subjected to intense media scrutiny. It also occurred as immigration was soaring in America. To what degree did sports, or representations of such, function as forms of cultural cohesion? And whose cultural cohesion? Editor: Baseball has always been America's pastime. The sport became rooted in national identity from the very beginning, taking root as an alternative to other nations' favored pastimes, like cricket in Great Britain. As such, the symbol of the baseball and the player adopt a unique importance in symbolizing national cultural consciousness and ambition, perhaps the ability to swing for the fences. Curator: And it's hard to ignore the way that racial dynamics shaped early baseball. The exclusion of Black players from organized baseball highlights the complex interplay between sport, identity, and social power. One might consider, here, the role that sports like baseball play in either subverting or perpetuating certain stereotypes and oppressive conditions for both women and people of color. What myths about gender and race is it telling, or reinforcing? Editor: That said, within these cards themselves, each detail becomes charged, representing something larger than merely O’Brien poised over a baseball. The faded sepia tint itself acts as a filter of memory, evoking a bygone era but also reinforcing particular narratives about the past. Every crease and faded detail is imbued with the weight of cultural transmission. Curator: The way that memory shapes present-day experience. It’s something that this image captures well. Editor: Yes, even a simple pose has volumes to say.