Lawrence Grant "Larry" Twitchell, Pitcher, Cleveland, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1887

This is a baseball card of Lawrence Grant "Larry" Twitchell, pitcher for Cleveland, made in 1887 by Goodwin & Company for Old Judge Cigarettes. It captures the confluence of sports, advertising, and the burgeoning culture of celebrity at the end of the nineteenth century. The image creates meaning through its stark realism, presenting Twitchell in his uniform against the backdrop of an urban stadium. The choice of baseball, America’s pastime, as a subject reflects the growing national identity and the commercial opportunities within it. Goodwin & Company's association with cigarette production reveals how consumer culture was rapidly evolving. The card is not just a portrait, but a sign of a rapidly industrialising and modernising society. To fully understand the significance of such an image, historians might consult advertising archives, sports records, and socio-economic data from the period, so we may interpret the public role of both sports and art at this time.