From the Girls and Children series (N58) promoting Our Little Beauties Cigarettes for Allen & Ginter brand tobacco products 1887

This late nineteenth-century card was printed by the tobacco company Allen & Ginter. It is a chromolithograph, meaning that it was made by layering multiple colors to achieve a rich image. Consider how this mode of production differs from older forms of image-making, like painting or drawing, in which the hand of the artist is more evident. Here, we see a technique of mass manufacture. The image is a consequence of industrialization, intended to circulate widely. The image itself is of a young woman dressed in a suit and top hat; the brand was "Our Little Beauties." The card embodies both the commodification of labor and the objectification of women. It raises unsettling questions about child labor, too. Cards like this one were made to be collected, but they also reflect a cynical attitude towards both their producers and consumers. They blur boundaries between art, commerce, and social commentary.