Peter J. Connell, 3rd Base, Des Moines Prohibitionists, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1889

Curator: Here we have a photograph from 1889: "Peter J. Connell, 3rd Base, Des Moines Prohibitionists, from the Old Judge series" by Goodwin & Company, originally made for Old Judge Cigarettes. It’s a gelatin silver print, fairly small in scale. Editor: My first impression is of a study in arrested motion, isn’t it? Connell is leaning forward, almost crouched, with his hands perfectly poised to receive the baseball suspended mid-air. The monochromatic palette lends the image a sense of timelessness. Curator: It really does freeze a fleeting moment in time, doesn't it? Baseball, and sports imagery more broadly, tapped into something profoundly resonant with the turn-of-the-century American identity. This card wasn't just about baseball; it was a signifier of a modern, masculine ideal linked to progress. Editor: I agree, but I can’t help noticing how posed it all feels. Look at the stark separation between figure and ground, for instance, and the flatness that results from that decision. It reinforces the picture’s nature as a carefully crafted image, far removed from any on-field action. Curator: Absolutely, there's a constructed artificiality that becomes almost theatrical. The backdrop itself—a plain muslin sheet—pushes Connell into the foreground, presenting him as an archetype more than a particular individual. The man almost fades into symbol. Editor: Perhaps. For me, the real interest lies in the tension between photographic realism and the clearly constructed nature of the shot. Look at the way his dark uniform blends with the ground and separates him from the light grey in the backdrop, highlighting the central compositional triangle that anchors his action. It speaks volumes about the priorities within this type of imagery. Curator: And in its widespread circulation, this photograph aided in creating legends. Players such as Connell become almost mythical figures, representative of something beyond just their athletic prowess. It is easy to view them in the broader narrative of a developing, unifying national identity, if only we had access to those layers, like onion skin, that we try and unearth every time. Editor: A point well taken! It has also led me to appreciate that seemingly simple compositions like these can hold hidden depths. Thanks for peeling back those layers.