Azuvert, from the Song Birds of the World series (N42) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes 1890

This is “Azuvert,” one of the Song Birds of the World series (N42) printed by Allen & Ginter for their cigarettes. Notice the tripartite composition: on the left, an advertisement; in the center, the portrait of a bird perched on a branch; and on the right, a bird perched on a branch under the light of a full moon. The picture is divided into clearly defined rectangular spaces. The contrast between the brightly lit bird and the darkened nocturnal landscape creates an intriguing dialectic. The formal arrangement invites a semiotic reading. The cigarette advertisement is a signifier of commerce, framing the natural world—the Azuvert—as an exotic commodity. The central panel highlights a bird in daylight while the moonlit scene is a coded suggestion of the cyclical rhythms of nature, yet this 'natural' order is undermined by the manufactured nature of the product it advertises. The image challenges a fixed notion of what is natural.