Henry "Heinie" Kappel, Left Field, Cincinnati, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1888

This small card, printed by Goodwin & Company for Old Judge Cigarettes, shows Henry "Heinie" Kappel in the late 1880s, poised over a baseball. His posture – bent, hands reaching – echoes the classical motif of anticipation. Consider the ready stance: hands open, as if receiving an offering. The positioning of the body echoes that of supplicants and athletes in ancient Greek sculptures, mirroring a similar tension and readiness. This pose recalls the long history of images of athletes and gods, reaching back through time. It echoes the moment before action, capturing the concentrated energy before release. This card does more than depict a baseball player; it subtly places him within a lineage of human endeavor and aspiration, tapping into a collective memory of striving and achieving. The emotional resonance of the image lies in this connection to the past, evoking a sense of timelessness.