Idaho, from Flags of the States and Territories (N11) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes Brands 1888

This is a lithograph of Idaho’s flag, which was issued by Allen and Ginter Cigarettes around 1888 as part of a series of promotional cards. Here we have a nineteenth-century advertising card using imagery derived from state iconography. This creates meaning through a complex set of visual codes and historical associations, though these are often skewed in the service of commerce. The flag itself includes an image of a pioneer family as well as the year 1863, the year the territory was established. But how might the culture and economy of the late nineteenth century have shaped this representation? How does the inclusion of the state flag in a series of cigarette cards play into larger narratives about the American West, expansion, and industry? As an art historian, I’m interested in the institutional histories and social conditions that shape artistic production. Extensive research into advertising ephemera can help us understand these images as social and cultural artifacts. By looking into these kinds of questions, we can better understand the role of the image in the making of collective memory.