Abner Frank Dalrymple, Left Field, Denver, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1888

This is a baseball card of Abner Frank Dalrymple, a left fielder for Denver, produced around 1888 by Goodwin & Company for Old Judge Cigarettes. These cards were originally distributed as promotional items inside cigarette packs, reflecting the growing commercialization of leisure and the rise of mass media in late 19th-century America. The sepia-toned image reveals codes of masculinity and athleticism, integral to baseball's cultural significance at the time. Dalrymple is captured in a poised stance, ready to throw, embodying the ideals of strength and skill. His gaze is confident, his mustache is thick and burly: the image speaks to the celebration of the athletic male body and the construction of celebrity. It’s no accident that this card comes to us via the Old Judge Cigarette Factory, a New York institution of mass marketing at the time. The card’s existence testifies to the convergence of sports, advertising, and consumer culture during the Gilded Age. As historians, we can delve deeper by researching the cultural context of baseball, advertising practices, and the biographies of both the athlete and the company behind this intriguing artifact.