Jimmy "Loafer" McAleer, Center Field, Cleveland, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1887 - 1890

Curator: What a find. This is "Jimmy 'Loafer' McAleer, Center Field, Cleveland," part of the Old Judge series from between 1887 and 1890. A fascinating glimpse into early baseball cards. Editor: It’s ghostly! Sepia tones lend it this odd serenity. He looks almost angelic reaching for an invisible ball. Curator: The Old Judge series were photographic prints included in cigarette packs, and were produced by Goodwin & Company. It's amazing how they used early photographic techniques for mass production of these cards, turning baseball players into collectible objects. Editor: Baseball, cigarettes…the industrial revolution at play! And to think these small photos were incentives to purchase mass-produced products. It makes you wonder about the laborers involved in the card’s production itself—harvesting the tobacco, printing the photos. Who are these figures we don't see immortalized in a baseball stance? Curator: It really highlights how deeply entwined consumerism and leisure have always been, doesn’t it? There’s also something romantic about the sepia tone. A perfect color palette of simpler times gone by. Even Jimmy 'Loafer' here—he looks almost unreal, doesn't he? More of a wistful figure of the past than a player about to catch a ball. Editor: "Loafer," that’s what strikes me—such a weird nickname. I wonder what it says about the societal expectations then versus now. Was it derogatory, or perhaps a term of endearment poking at the leisurely side of athleticism? And the fact that his profession has now been transformed into this capitalist venture with commodification through collectible trading cards. Curator: It's intriguing to ponder on the human element. The life that player must have led both inside and outside the spectacle, as captured by a photographic technology yet in its fledgling state. It allows you, on the receiving end of these artifacts, to really meditate about fleeting, and even personal, histories. Editor: Absolutely. Peeking at this piece has truly given me plenty to mull over, in how labor, material culture, and entertainment converge. Curator: I agree. It is far more poignant now that its primary function as promotion is gone, don't you think? What remains becomes very suggestive.