Joseph H. "Joe" Mulvey, 3rd Base, Philadelphia, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1887

This small photograph, a baseball card from 1887 by Goodwin & Company, captures Joseph Mulvey, a third baseman for Philadelphia. What is striking here is the gesture. Mulvey holds a baseball, poised between his hands, in an offering. The open hands in this baseball card echo across centuries. Consider the Orans pose in early Christian art, figures with arms outstretched in prayer, or the priestly blessings from antiquity. The same gesture reappears in countless contexts: a plea, a supplication, or an attempt to give something important. Here it is modified; instead of spiritual ecstasy, Mulvey is offering his baseball skills in a commercial exchange. The gesture speaks to a deeper, subconscious desire for connection and perhaps even salvation, a desire now intertwined with more secular idols. Such gestures persist, adapting to new cultural landscapes, yet retaining their primal, emotional resonance.