Peeples, Catcher, Brooklyn, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1887 - 1890

This is a Goodwin & Company baseball card from the "Old Judge Cigarettes" series, probably made in the late 1880s. It shows Peeples, a catcher for the Brooklyn team, in his protective gear. These cards were essentially advertisements, designed to promote the Old Judge brand. By including them in cigarette packs, Goodwin & Company linked their product to the growing popularity of baseball. The players featured, like Peeples here, became early celebrities, their images circulated and collected by fans. It’s interesting to consider the beginnings of the commercialization of sports and how images like this played a role in shaping cultural values. To fully understand this card, we'd want to research the history of baseball in Brooklyn, the marketing strategies of tobacco companies, and the role of celebrity in late 19th-century America. Approaching art with an eye on social and institutional history allows us to understand the complex and sometimes surprising ways that art reflects society.