Pete Conway, Pitcher, Pittsburgh, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1888

This is "Pete Conway, Pitcher, Pittsburgh," a photographic print made around 1888 by Goodwin & Company for Old Judge Cigarettes. The sepia-toned albumen print process was a popular method for creating photographs at the time, involving coating paper with egg white and silver nitrate. What’s fascinating here is the intersection of commercial culture, celebrity, and the burgeoning mass media. Goodwin & Company was cashing in on the popularity of baseball by including these cards in their cigarette packs, in a way creating a collectible commodity. Photographers would have been employed to take these portraits of athletes, and factory workers to insert them in the packaging. It raises questions about the nature of work and value in the late 19th century. Consider, too, the role of photography in creating and disseminating images of athletes, making them into celebrities and driving the market for baseball cards and other memorabilia. It's a potent reminder that even seemingly simple images are complex cultural artifacts, tied to wider social issues of labor, politics, and consumption.