Nichols, Philadelphia, American League, from the White Border series (T206) for the American Tobacco Company 1909 - 1911

This small printed card from the American Tobacco Company portrays Nichols of Philadelphia's American League, and comes from the White Border series (T206). These cards, distributed with tobacco products, capture a moment in early 20th-century America when baseball was rapidly becoming the "national pastime". Yet, this image also exists within a context of industrial capitalism and the rise of mass advertising. Tobacco companies strategically used sports figures to market their products, subtly associating athleticism with the addictive qualities of nicotine. The card presents a clean-cut image of white male athleticism, but this carefully constructed image obscures the realities of labor exploitation, the environmental impacts of tobacco farming, and racial segregation both in baseball and society at large. The emotional draw of these cards lay in their ability to connect individuals to larger narratives of success, and belonging, offering a slice of Americana that was both aspirational and deeply implicated in the social and economic complexities of its time.