Sachsen, German Navy, from the Naval Vessels of the World series (N226) issued by Kinney Bros. 1889

This small chromolithograph of the German Navy ship, Sachsen, was made by the Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company as a promotional insert for their cigarettes. These cards were collected and traded, becoming miniature encyclopedias of the world for ordinary people. The flat, graphic style, with its simplified forms and bright colors, is typical of chromolithography, a printing process that uses multiple stone or metal plates to transfer images. This was a mechanized form of image production, driven by the need for mass communication and advertising. Each card represents a small unit of production within a larger industrial system. The image is crisp and clean, despite the amount of labor that went into its creation. This card connected the simple act of smoking with a wider world of knowledge and aspiration. Even a humble artifact, like this cigarette card, offers insight into the links between consumer culture, industrial production, and the circulation of knowledge. It challenges us to look beyond traditional categories of art and craft, and to see the value in all forms of material culture.