Clarkson, Pitcher, Chicago, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1887

This 1887 photograph of Clarkson, a Chicago baseball pitcher, was produced by Goodwin & Company for Old Judge Cigarettes. These cards were originally included in cigarette packs as a promotional item, reflecting the burgeoning popularity of baseball and the rise of consumer culture in the late 19th century United States. The image itself, with its sepia tones and carefully posed subject, speaks to the era's photographic conventions and the deliberate construction of celebrity. Consider the institutional context: Goodwin & Company, a tobacco firm, leveraged the appeal of sports to market its product. This speaks to the commercialization of leisure and the use of popular figures to endorse consumer goods. Understanding this image requires us to consider the social and economic landscape of the time. Old Judge Cigarettes advertising campaign contributed to the construction of baseball as a national pastime, and the company archive can illuminate the relationship between commerce, sport, and popular culture in the 1880s.