Russian, from World's Dudes series (N31) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes 1888

Curator: Good morning. Today, we'll be looking at a lithograph from 1888 titled "Russian, from World's Dudes series (N31)" by Allen & Ginter. It’s a small-scale piece, designed for placement within a cigarette pack. Editor: It strikes me as quite amusing, actually. There's an almost caricatured quality to the figure – the over-the-top moustache, the slightly stiff pose. It feels performative in its masculinity. Curator: Indeed. The lithograph's strength lies in its effective use of contrasting textures. Notice the juxtaposition of the smooth, almost shiny top hat against the plush, textured fur trim of his coat. Then observe the backdrop—delicate, almost faded strokes illustrating a wintry Russian landscape. Editor: That's interesting, that the publishers, Allen & Ginter, would place this type of image, so clearly designed to signal Russian aristocracy, within something as democratized and working-class oriented as a pack of cigarettes. Were they catering to some aspirational desire in their consumers, perhaps? Curator: Precisely. This particular piece speaks to the late 19th-century fascination with global cultures, specifically, the Orientalism influencing Western portraiture. However, such portrayals were frequently infused with a certain degree of exoticism. Cigarette cards presented carefully crafted personas that evoked particular places and types for the public imagination. Editor: It’s intriguing how something so seemingly disposable provides us with a portal into the aspirations and prejudices of the era. I see a subtle critique within the print; while this subject aims to look important, in reality he is an exotic oddity for mass consumption. Curator: Certainly, and that intersection of class, presentation, and industry—what it projects and conceals—remains a fascinating puzzle to untangle. The success and wide availability of this particular brand point to specific, and popular, political imaginaries of its time. Editor: Thank you, it's really revealed nuances within something that, on the surface, appeared to be a simple, perhaps even humorous, portrait.