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Jimmy "Loafer" McAleer, Center Field, Cleveland, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes

Jimmy "Loafer" McAleer, Center Field, Cleveland, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes by Goodwin & Company

Medium

Albumen photograph

Dimensions

sheet: 2 11/16 x 1 3/8 in. (6.9 x 3.5 cm)

Classification

Photographs|Ephemera

Department

Drawings and Prints

Museum

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY

Credit

The Jefferson R. Burdick Collection, Gift of Jefferson R. Burdick

Accession Number

63.350.215.172.1215

Tags

MenPortraitsBaseballAthletes

Art Historical Context

Step into the bustling world of 1880s America with *Jimmy "Loafer" McAleer, Center, Cleveland*, a gem from Goodwin & Company's Old Judge seriesN172). Produced in 1889, this tiny albumen photograph—measuring just 2 /16 x 1 3/8 inches—was inserted into Old Judge Cigarette packs as a promotional trading card. These cards captured the era's baseball stars, fueling the sport's rise as America's pastime amid the professional leagues' early boom. The albumen process, a hallmark of 19th-century photography, coated paper with egg whites and silver salts for sharp, detailed portraits like this one of M...

About the Artist

Goodwin & Company · 18501950

**Goodwin & Company (ca. 1850–1950)** Goodwin & Company, originally established as E. Goodwin and Brother before the American Civil War, emerged as a prominent New York City-based tobacco manufacturer in the mid-19th century. Operating from the bustling heart of Manhattan, the firm built its reputation on popular cigarette brands such as Gypsy Queen and, most notably, Old Judge, which became syno...

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