Trott and Burns, Baltimore Orioles, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1888

This is a photograph from 1888, made by Goodwin & Company, as part of the Old Judge Cigarettes series. It pictures Trott and Burns, two members of the Baltimore Orioles baseball team. These cards were inserted into cigarette packs, incentivizing the purchase of tobacco products and fostering brand loyalty through the then-burgeoning popularity of baseball. The late 19th century was an era of massive industrial expansion, where advertising took on new forms to capture consumer attention. Baseball, as a developing national pastime, became a powerful vehicle for companies like Goodwin to reach a wide audience. The image itself, sepia-toned and carefully posed, reflects the aesthetic conventions of early photography. By researching advertising ephemera and the history of baseball, we can understand the cultural and economic forces that shaped images like this.