Foutz, Pitcher, Brooklyn Bridegrooms, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1888

Editor: Here we have "Foutz, Pitcher, Brooklyn Bridegrooms" from the Old Judge series, printed in 1888. It looks like a photographic print. It's intriguing – a portrait of a baseball player used to advertise cigarettes. How do you interpret this work? Curator: This card operates on multiple levels. We see it today as a historical document, but it was originally intended as a promotional tool, deeply intertwined with the marketing strategies of the late 19th century. Consider the power dynamics at play: the celebrity of the athlete used to promote a product that disproportionately affected working-class men, baseball's target audience. Does this portrait valorize the athlete, or commodify him? Editor: I hadn’t thought about it like that. It seems simple, a baseball card. Curator: Exactly! And simplicity is often deceptive. How does placing Foutz, a male athlete, within the context of a "cigarette card" reinforce ideas of masculinity, labor, and even addiction at the time? Think about the burgeoning celebrity culture then. Editor: So, it’s not just a picture of a baseball player, but a symbol of societal values being marketed back to the public. Did the athletes benefit from this kind of advertising? Curator: That’s the crucial question. Often, the gains were largely corporate. It prompts us to consider labor, ownership of image, and the exploitation inherent within even seemingly innocuous forms of media. How have these dynamics evolved or persisted into contemporary sports and advertising? Editor: I’ll definitely look at baseball cards differently from now on. Thanks for the insights. Curator: It's all about asking the right questions and understanding how art, even in the form of a baseball card, is connected to the world around it.