Lawrence Grant "Larry" Twitchell, Pitcher, Cleveland, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes

Art Historical Context

Step into the golden age of baseball with this petite albumen photograph from 1887, featuring Lawrence Grant "Larry" Twchell, the star pitcher for the Cleveland Blues. Produced by Goodwin & Company as part of their iconic Old Judge series (N172one of the earliest and most comprehensive sets of baseball trading cards—these 2 11/16 x 1 3/8-inch cards were tucked into packs of Old Judge Cigarettes entice smokers and spark collecting fever. Albumen prints, made by coating paper with egg whites and silver salts, delivered the crisp detail and warm tones that captured Twitchell's poised intensity, emblematic of 19th-century photographic precision. Classified as ephemera in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department, this piece hails from The Jefferson R. Burdick Collection, a treasure trove of American print ephemera gifted in 1948. These cards hold immense cultural weight, documenting baseball's explosive rise as America's pastime amid the post-Civil War boom. They immortalized athletes like Twitchell, a versatile player who pitched and fielded for multiple teams, blending sports heroism with clever tobacco marketing in an era before modern endorsements. A tiny window into Victorian-era fandom!

About the Artist

Goodwin & Company · 1850–1950

**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...