John Good "Long John" Reilly, 1st Base, Cincinnati, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1888

This small card featuring John Good "Long John" Reilly was made around 1888 by Goodwin & Company, using photography and printing. These cards weren't intended as art, but rather as a promotional item inserted into packs of Old Judge Cigarettes. The sepia-toned image, capturing Reilly in his Cincinnati baseball uniform, speaks to the burgeoning popularity of baseball and the rise of mass media. The card itself, a thin piece of paper, is a testament to industrial production, churned out in vast quantities as a marketing tool. Consider the labor involved. Not only in cultivating and processing tobacco for the cigarettes, but also in the photographic studios and printing presses that produced these cards. The image captures a moment in time but also hints at the broader economic and social forces at play. This card transcends its humble origins as a piece of ephemera. It invites us to reflect on the intersection of sport, industry, and consumer culture in late 19th-century America, and the blurring of lines between art, advertising, and everyday life.