McTamany, Center Field, Brooklyn, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1887 - 1890

This baseball card, featuring McTamany of Center Field, Brooklyn, was made by Goodwin & Company as part of the Old Judge Cigarettes series. It's a small photographic print, likely albumen or gelatin silver, affixed to a cardstock. The card's sepia tones, inherent to the period's photographic chemistry, evoke a sense of nostalgia but it also speaks to the industrial processes behind it. The image, captured with a camera, was then reproduced on a mass scale, leveraging the then-cutting-edge technology of commercial printing. These cards weren't conceived as high art, yet they reflect the burgeoning intersection of sports, celebrity, and consumer culture. They were inserted into cigarette packs as a promotional tool, turning baseball players into collectible commodities. The amount of labor involved in photography, printing, and distribution highlights the scale of industrial capitalism in the late 19th century. Considered through the lens of making, the card transcends its status as a mere commercial product, offering insights into the social and economic forces that shaped its creation.