Card Number 4, cut-out from banner advertising the Opera Gloves series (G29) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes 1885 - 1895

This is "Card Number 4", a cut-out from a banner used to advertise the Opera Gloves series for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes. At first glance, the image strikes us with its symmetrical composition: an elongated red gloved hand holds a portrait of a woman. The hand, rendered in shades of burgundy, appears almost surreal against the cream backdrop, its texture evoking both elegance and slight unease. This tension is further heightened by the unusual void at the glove's palm, revealing a glimpse of bare flesh and the number ‘4’. The woman in the portrait, framed by a pale yellow rectangle, is carefully placed, seemingly as a product that the gloved hand presents for sale. What could it mean to juxtapose the luxury of opera gloves with an idealised image of femininity? The formal arrangement of the artwork becomes a semiotic exercise in decoding the values and desires that the advertisement aimed to ignite. The artwork’s formal qualities – its composition, color, and the curious void – encourage a constant questioning of meaning, an active engagement that transcends its historical context.