Going For Third Base, from the Talk of the Diamond set (N135) issued by Duke Sons & Co., a branch of the American Tobacco Company 1888

Curator: This amusing colored pencil drawing is called "Going For Third Base," dating back to 1888. It comes from the "Talk of the Diamond" series, N135, issued by Duke Sons & Co. Editor: The image feels strangely dissonant. It depicts simultaneous scenes—a baseball player making a run for third, juxtaposed with what appears to be a rather brutal schoolroom spanking. Curator: Precisely. It uses caricature to make its point. Consider the cultural memory of late 19th century attitudes about sports and discipline in the U.S. This connects the thrill of baseball, symbolized by the flag with the "N", likely representing a specific team, to a humorous—yet still unsettling—depiction of corporal punishment in schools. Editor: From a formal standpoint, the composition is fascinatingly divided. The clear, graphic linearity of the baseball diamond and figures contrasts sharply with the almost chaotic clustering and implied movement within the classroom setting. This juxtaposition visually enacts the clash between order and disruption. Curator: I agree. This card seems to be playing with those themes: the outside world of leisure versus the strict confines of education. It implies a humorous analogy – are the stakes of childhood transgressions and adult sporting events equally serious, equally arbitrary? The open book on the lower-left symbolizes education's rules, while the act of the runner also entails following "the rules", and that's visually reinforced by the baseball player wearing stripes, much like one could see in some prison paintings or images, though a striped baseball uniform was common back then. Editor: The limited color palette also directs our focus. The yellows and reds highlighting the figures pull the eye. Red also symbolizes passion. Note, the baseball player wears red at the throat and waist, but in the classroom scene we find inflamed red faces in response to shame, physical discomfort, even hysteria, connecting the disparate areas visually and thematically. Curator: Ultimately, “Going For Third Base” reminds us that even what seems straightforward—the pursuit of a goal, the enforcement of rules—can contain layers of social meaning and conflicting emotional experiences that resonate even now. Editor: And for me, examining the graphic strategies at play underscores how this deceptively simple image achieves such complex commentary. It offers, visually, a whole playbook of the tensions in a specific American historical moment.