McCauley, Catcher, Chicago, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1888

Curator: This particular piece from 1888 is titled "McCauley, Catcher, Chicago, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes." It is currently held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Editor: It's evocative, in a sepia-toned way. The tight cropping focuses intensely on the athlete and amplifies the impact of his poised, game-ready stance. It's surprisingly intimate, considering it was essentially advertisement. Curator: Precisely. These Old Judge series cards weren't just about baseball; they were instruments of marketing and, simultaneously, reflections of late 19th-century celebrity culture. Consider the economic and social factors that elevated these athletes to such prominent positions. The baseball card emerged in the same era as industrial expansion, urbanization and new modes of commercial image production. Editor: Absolutely. It's not just an image, it’s a commodity born from industrial production methods; notice the subtle printing inconsistencies throughout, suggestive of mass production. But look closer, can you also notice a likeness suggestive of manual intervention? A drawing from a photograph that must have been retouched! That's where things get interesting: The confluence of mechanical reproduction with artisanal labor. Curator: This tensions points to what sort of image was desirable in society at the time: real but also idealized in ways which made the players more admirable as they performed under enormous pressure for a large audience of onlookers! The cigarette company aimed to align its brand with such masculine ideals in this booming capitalist moment! Editor: Masculinity, athleticism and also tobacco, obviously, but let’s think also of baseball gear as also having its material reality, it’s means of production! You look at that glove, McCauley, must have had to rely on those well worn and heavily stitched catcher’s mitt to earn his daily bread. A great material reminder that those where high stakes times! Curator: I see this baseball card as a symbol of a transitional period—sports becoming commercialized, individuals elevated to almost mythical status within urban culture and that continues to today. Editor: I'm stuck on the way that blend of photography, printing and retouching gives the card a unique presence and highlights labor within this image production!