Foutz, Pitcher, Brooklyn Bridegrooms, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1888

Curator: Looking at this sepia-toned photograph, "Foutz, Pitcher, Brooklyn Bridegrooms, from the Old Judge series," from 1888... it's like a little window into a bygone world. Baseball, cigarettes, and a surprisingly stern expression. Editor: The whole image whispers of a lost world! The lighting almost gives it a sense of a religious icon...like a young baseball saint, holding his bat like a holy staff. Is that melodramatic? Maybe. Curator: Not at all! I see what you mean. Produced by Goodwin & Company as an advertising piece, a sort of trading card given away with "Old Judge Cigarettes", its symbolic power has morphed over time. The stiff pose is not a natural likeness of Foutz, it feels strangely symbolic or constructed. Editor: Definitely. He embodies the spirit of early baseball – its blend of sport and something else, a nascent national myth, a coming of age...notice how the photographic style gives the baseball uniform a quality reminiscent of armor? His clothing seems deliberately rendered, not simply functional or expressive, but emblematic of collective strength and tradition. Curator: I completely agree, particularly the careful composition. Consider the very deliberate foreground with bits of scattered "grass," compared to the hazy background suggesting a stadium filled with... hopeful aspiration! I also think it's about the performance of masculinity too. Even though photography was becoming more ubiquitous, images still carried enormous social weight, even this photograph print made for consumer purposes. Editor: Right! It really touches on that yearning for authenticity. You can almost feel the pressure on this young athlete's shoulders, as he holds that pose! I also think that objects like his baseball bat transcend their initial function; they gain a new spiritual association as signs of faith, resilience, hope for advancement – the 'American Dream', if you will. And a baseball field does resemble the ancient Roman arena... Curator: And so much rides on performance... for him and the consumer buying the product. It's such a complex piece! I come back to my first impression that the image gives baseball almost a religious quality... a new world mythology played out in sandlots across the nation. Editor: For me, this is about collective memory. Seeing "Foutz, Pitcher" I wonder about baseball heroes whose legends are bound in photographic stillness to bygone American culture. It's as though, on a dusty baseball diamond, our modern age is constantly reimagining a glorious past!