James William "Jim" Keenan, Catcher, Cincinnati, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1888

This baseball card, featuring Jim Keenan, Catcher for Cincinnati, was made by Goodwin & Company for Old Judge Cigarettes. These cards weren't fine art; they were chromolithographs, mass-produced and inserted into cigarette packs as a marketing gimmick, relying on photography, printing, and a vast distribution network. What’s interesting is how this humble paper rectangle reflects broader social and economic forces. The photographic image, once captured, could be reproduced ad infinitum, mirroring the endless churn of the factory. It was a product intended for widespread consumption, fueling both a craze for collecting and the demand for tobacco. There’s a definite class element at play. Baseball, though romanticized as the national pastime, was in its early days a working-class spectacle. Likewise, cigarettes were an affordable habit. The card, then, is a material record of leisure and labor, neatly packaged together. By considering the industrial processes that made this card possible, we get a glimpse into the cultural landscape of the late 19th century, challenging our notions of what constitutes art and how it reflects society.