Sommers, Catcher, Chicago, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1889

Curator: There's a certain nostalgic charm radiating from this unassuming card. Editor: I see that immediately – it's bathed in sepia tones, almost like a memory fading at the edges, but strangely alive. Curator: Indeed. What you are seeing is a card from the "Old Judge" series, circa 1889, specifically featuring Sommers, the catcher for Chicago. The photographs were included in packs of Old Judge Cigarettes by Goodwin & Company, a marketing strategy intended to boost sales. Editor: Ah, tobacco and baseball, a classic American combo. So, these cards were essentially ads? Does the company want us to admire a photograph, or buy the product? Curator: Exactly, but it transformed into something more, really. They inadvertently documented a piece of baseball and urban culture in a fascinating way, shaping perceptions of baseball's emerging heroes. The photos themselves have a real directness – unvarnished portraits. The fact it survives on this little piece of paper just adds to that nostalgic power. It freezes a moment in time. Editor: He does look striking—serious, intense focus in his stance. His mitt, the ball poised – everything tells a story about the dawn of professional baseball. There's a palpable weight of history in this image. I guess people are drawn to his intense pose rather than to a branding, as that intensity just takes you by surprise! I never understood why so many old brands included things that have very little or nothing to do with them, such as artwork... but it worked well. Curator: Right. They also point to a larger shift happening, the way images began circulating to represent more than a product, reflecting public desires. The commercial logic created art. Editor: How funny that those ads ended up as artworks for posterity, then! That's quite a clever thing to put together when thinking about all these things, right? Curator: That’s how intertwined are art and culture. It really gives me a lot to consider about commercial work as a form of art on its own. Editor: A little paper card, a huge history… Now I need a cigarette, don’t tell anyone!