Capitol of Vermont in Montpelier, from the General Government and State Capitol Buildings series (N14) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes Brands 1889

This small card, depicting the Capitol of Vermont in Montpelier, was made by Allen & Ginter for their cigarette brand. The print is chromolithography, a color printing technique that uses multiple lithographic stones, each applying a different color ink to the paper. But why this image on a cigarette card? These cards were essentially miniature billboards. In a booming, brand-new capitalist economy, manufacturers realized the importance of associating their product with desirable imagery. The Capitol building, a symbol of statehood and governance, represented stability and aspiration. The production of these cards involved a division of labor – from the artists and engravers who created the images, to the factory workers who printed and packaged them with cigarettes. All this effort to create a collectible, a tiny token of a larger world. So, the next time you see an image like this, consider the layers of meaning embedded within it, not just as an artwork, but as a product of its time.