Charles G. Buffington, Center Field, Philadelphia, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1887

This is a photograph of Charles Buffington, a baseball player for Philadelphia, made in 1887 by Goodwin & Company. It’s a simple albumen print, a thin paper coated with egg white to give it a glossy surface. What’s interesting is the way this image was produced and disseminated, not as art, but as part of the "Old Judge" cigarette brand. Goodwin & Company mass-produced these cards, inserting one into each pack of cigarettes as a promotional item. This was a strategy to hook customers on their particular brand. In its time, the card was disposable, intended to be collected or traded by fans, or simply thrown away with the empty cigarette pack. Now, we view it as a valuable historical artifact. This reminds us that the value of images, like all materials, can change over time, and that even something as ephemeral as a baseball card can be seen as a form of cultural production. The photo gives us insight into labor, and a specific moment in the history of capitalism, and its influence on popular culture.