Philip Sydney "Red" Ehret, Pitcher, Louisville Colonels, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1887 - 1890

This albumen silver print from the late 1880s depicts Philip Sydney "Red" Ehret, a pitcher for the Louisville Colonels, and was produced by Goodwin & Company for Old Judge Cigarettes. These cards were a novel form of advertising, and they reflect the growing commercialization of baseball and the rise of celebrity culture in America. The image, though seemingly straightforward, is steeped in the visual codes of its time. Baseball's popularity was soaring, and these cards served as a way for fans to connect with their favorite players. The fact that the cards were distributed with cigarettes also reveals much about the social norms of the era, when smoking was far more accepted and advertising was less regulated. By consulting period newspapers, baseball encyclopedias, and advertising archives, we can begin to understand the cultural and economic forces that shaped this seemingly simple image. The meaning of art is always contingent on its social and institutional context.