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

This is Shuttlecock, from the Games and Sports series (N165) for Old Judge Cigarettes, made in the late nineteenth century by Goodwin & Company. These cards were often included in cigarette packs, reflecting the era's emerging consumer culture. Here, we see an idealized vision of leisure, but who gets access to this vision? The figures, presumably upper class, engage in a game of badminton. The attire of the players, the fashionable dress of the spectator—these are all markers of privilege and social standing. The figures are white, embodying a historical moment in which ideas about race and class were deeply intertwined with notions of who gets to be represented. The card promotes a specific kind of lifestyle, one that is carefully constructed and marketed to consumers. Shuttlecock is an evocative portrayal of leisure, gender, and class in a bygone era.