Grizzly Bear, from the Quadrupeds series (N21) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes 1890

This small chromolithograph of a grizzly bear comes from a series produced by Allen & Ginter, a cigarette company active in the United States during the late 19th century. Trading cards like this one, featuring animals, sports figures, or other popular subjects, were included in cigarette packs as a marketing strategy. But the image is more than just a sales gimmick, it speaks to a particular moment in American history when the idea of "the wild west" was very popular. The grizzly bear was seen as a symbol of untamed nature, and its image was used to promote ideas about rugged individualism and the conquest of the frontier. These trading cards weren’t simply innocent novelties, but rather objects which promoted a romanticized vision of the American West, one which often ignored the violence and displacement of indigenous populations. Historians can examine such artworks alongside other sources to better understand how cultural values are reflected and promoted through commercial imagery.