Michael J. Cody, Catcher, Des Moines Prohibitionists, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1889

This is a baseball card of Michael J. Cody, a catcher for the Des Moines Prohibitionists, from the "Old Judge" series, created in 1889 by Goodwin & Company. The card is a monochrome photograph depicting Cody holding a baseball bat with a ball in the air. The photograph was likely made from a tintype, a type of photograph made on a thin sheet of metal coated with a light-sensitive collodion emulsion, and was produced as a promotional piece for "Old Judge" cigarettes. The card is now part of the collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.