Herr, Shortstop, St. Louis Whites, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1888

Curator: This evocative print, dating from 1888, features Herr, the shortstop for the St. Louis Whites, as part of the Old Judge Cigarettes series, produced by Goodwin & Company. It’s housed here at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Editor: It's fascinating how something so straightforward as a baseball card manages to project a peculiar, almost mournful quality. The sepia tone only adds to that sentiment, doesn’t it? Curator: I agree. Look closely at the material context. These weren’t made as ‘art’ but as trade cards, cheaply produced and distributed to boost cigarette sales. This image, like others in the series, would have been churned out in vast quantities. Editor: The casual, almost dismissive attitude towards labor reflected in that production contrasts sharply with the intense focus on masculine prowess inherent in the baseball theme. Early baseball cards like these are products of burgeoning capitalism, commodifying everything. How were these athletes compensated back then? Did they have any agency in their image being used in this way? Curator: A crucial point. The Goodwin company profited significantly from these cards. Consider the photographic process too, the decisions surrounding composition and lighting would’ve had some degree of technical sophistication given the reproductive capabilities of the medium, which indicates something about photographic labour. The texture of the print itself betrays the high-volume processes involved; the materials are not archival. Editor: Absolutely. And it begs the question of accessibility. Cigarettes at the time were increasingly associated with the working classes. This positions Herr within specific ideas about American masculinity at the time: physical strength, athleticism, and even working class masculinity associated with cigarettes. There’s a power dynamic there, even as he seemingly occupies a celebrated role as a sportsman. Curator: These small pieces are loaded with meaning once you begin to unpack the circumstances behind them. Editor: Precisely. It reminds us that seemingly simple artifacts can reveal much about the socio-economic and political landscapes of their time.