Alexander, Pitcher, Des Moines, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1888 - 1889

This lithograph card by Goodwin & Company, part of the Old Judge Cigarettes series, presents a portrait of baseball pitcher Alexander, captured in a moment of gestural intensity. Notice Alexander’s hands: clasped tightly, almost defensively, near his chest. This gesture of holding, a form of protection, has echoes across art history. Consider the many depictions of saints with hands clasped in prayer. Here, the gesture might imply Alexander’s anticipation, the tension before the pitch. It evokes a sense of vulnerability. Such a gesture, repeated across centuries and cultures, taps into a collective memory. This image captures a fleeting moment of human emotion and connects us, through shared symbols, to the long chain of human experience. It reflects a deep-seated psychological need for safety and control and speaks to the eternal human drama of anticipation and action.