William Van Winkle "Jimmy" Wolf, Right Field, Louisville Colonels, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1888

Curator: This photo print captures William Van Winkle "Jimmy" Wolf, a right fielder for the Louisville Colonels, around 1888. What strikes you about it? Editor: Well, immediately, I’m noticing the sepia tones lend it this nostalgic haze. He looks as though he’s mid-motion, waiting for the ball. It’s incredibly static but contains a sense of suspense. Curator: Right, Goodwin & Company originally created it as part of the "Old Judge" series, intended for advertisement, I assume? We see his baseball uniform looks a bit worn. The brand name “Old Judge” printed at the bottom ties him, and his prowess, to a culture that also sells cigarettes. Editor: Absolutely, and that intertwining is fascinating. How baseball, a symbol of Americana, gets folded into consumer culture early on. Were these athletes, in effect, early influencers? Think about it; it creates this problematic linkage: the all-American ideal, athletics, tobacco—selling aspiration through a photo. Curator: And there’s an undeniable class element, right? Cigarettes were increasingly being marketed toward working-class men, offering both aspiration and perhaps a momentary escape from daily struggles. The player embodies hard work and the possibility of achieving glory—linking himself with, in effect, "blowing off some steam" through a smoke. He must have had no idea his face and action stance would mean so much layered behind the ad. Editor: Precisely, it’s layering one fantasy upon another. It raises essential questions, especially with present day views. The cigarette company becomes a major stakeholder in projecting images of masculine power. Look, it’s all in one little baseball card. Curator: Mmm. A window into an older time that shows not too much has changed, just shifted and updated. I never know with early photos how candid of a glimpse it is. We are really the only ones who care now—did Goodwin & Company feel as we do with their artwork? Editor: Food for thought! That, along with what kind of narratives we want to continue projecting to future generations about advertisements that are a layered hodge-podge.