Tommy McCarthy, Center Field, St. Louis Browns, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1889

This baseball card depicting Tommy McCarthy of the St. Louis Browns was made around 1888 by Goodwin & Company, lithographed on paper. As a commercial product designed to be included in Old Judge Cigarette packs, the card is an artifact deeply embedded in the industrial processes and consumer culture of its time. The lithographic technique allowed for mass production, and the paper itself was an industrially manufactured material, reflecting the scale of the tobacco industry. The image, capturing a moment of action, highlights the increasing popularity of baseball as a form of mass entertainment. The card’s small size and ephemeral nature speak to its original function as a disposable promotional item. Its survival allows us to consider the intersection of sport, commerce, and visual culture in late 19th-century America, and how an everyday object like this can hold layers of social and economic meaning.