Yellow-Casque Black Hornbill, from the Birds of the Tropics series (N5) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes Brands 1889

This is a chromolithograph of a Yellow-Casque Black Hornbill, made to be included in packs of Allen & Ginter Cigarettes. Small cards like this were produced in the United States in the late nineteenth century, a time when consumer culture was rapidly expanding. Tobacco companies in particular were keen to connect their products to a wider sense of refinement and knowledge. Cards like this one were essentially a form of advertising, but they also spoke to a widespread desire for self-improvement and knowing about the world. The image’s appeal lies in its promise of access to far-flung and exotic places. In this case, a tropical scene, that most consumers would never be able to visit. It demonstrates how the institutions of commerce shape our relationship to art and knowledge. To understand this image better, we might research the history of advertising, or even the history of ornithology. The meaning of art always depends on its social and institutional context.