Pistol Shooting, from the Games and Sports series (N165) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1889

This small card, "Pistol Shooting," was produced by Goodwin & Company as part of a series of promotional baseball cards packaged with Old Judge Cigarettes. These were printed using lithography, a process by which an image is drawn on a stone or metal plate and then transferred to paper. The card reflects a particular moment in the history of image-making, situated between hand production and industrial manufacturing. Each card was made to be affordable and easily produced in large quantities. The relatively mundane subject of pistol shooting becomes a collectible item, part of a larger narrative about the commercialization of leisure and entertainment. The card participates in an economy of desire, encouraging consumers to purchase cigarettes in order to collect the full set. What was otherwise an everyday image transforms into a valuable commodity. The humble card reminds us of the deep connections between art, commerce, and the social fabric of everyday life. It challenges our assumptions about what constitutes art, prompting us to consider the cultural value embedded in even the most mass-produced objects.