William Charles "Bill" Farmer, Catcher, St. Paul Apostles, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1888

This albumen silver print of William Charles "Bill" Farmer, a baseball catcher for the St. Paul Apostles, was created by Goodwin & Company. The sepia tone and modest dimensions of the card immediately establish a sense of nostalgia, a visual echo of a bygone era. Farmer is centered, posed mid-action, hands open, ready to catch. His posture forms a triangle, providing a strong sense of stability. This geometric form grounds the image but also implies a sense of potential energy, poised for movement. The use of such photographic cards for advertisement introduces an interesting interplay between commerce and culture. The formal elements of portraiture are being used to promote a product, a cigarette brand, embedding cultural values within commercial endeavors. The photograph's composition invites us to consider how meaning is constructed through visual representation and its social context. The photograph acts as a sign, representative of cultural values embedded in sports and advertising.