Sommers, Catcher, Chicago, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1889

Editor: This is a baseball card from 1889, titled "Sommers, Catcher, Chicago," made by Goodwin & Company as part of the Old Judge Cigarettes series. It's an albumen print, so a photograph printed using egg whites, which gives it this warm, sepia tone. What catches my eye is how stiff and posed the player is. It makes me wonder, what's being communicated here? Curator: Think of it less as a snapshot and more as a constructed representation, akin to a religious icon. It aims to distill the essence of "catcher," perhaps even the spirit of baseball itself. Note how his gaze is directed just off the frame: where does *he* think he's looking? Editor: So it's not just a portrait, but a symbolic representation? I suppose I just see a baseball card. Curator: Indeed! These cards, distributed with cigarettes, were a form of advertising, but they also tap into deeper cultural narratives. The player, frozen in a moment of action, becomes an emblem of American athleticism and the burgeoning commercial culture surrounding it. It captures how mass media uses certain images to portray a particular idea or reinforce a specific kind of belief or behaviour. Does the ‘Old Judge’ seem to align with these messages in any way? Editor: It sounds like this ordinary picture shows us the power that even little symbols can have. The symbolism carries weight even now; baseball uniforms aren't drastically different. I'll never see a baseball card the same way again. Curator: Exactly. Recognizing these layers of cultural memory within the image deepens our understanding, connecting us to the past in unexpected ways.