Card Number 6, cut-out from banner advertising the Opera Gloves series (G29) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes 1885 - 1895

This small advertisement card was produced by Allen & Ginter in the United States as part of a series promoting 'Opera Gloves' cigarettes. It depicts a green gloved hand holding an image of a woman. These cards were designed to be collected and traded, a marketing strategy that reveals a culture increasingly defined by mass production and consumerism. What is most interesting about this image, however, is its commodification of femininity. The woman, framed by a fur collar, is presented as an object of desire, subtly equating her with the luxury of the opera gloves and, by extension, the cigarettes themselves. The fact that Allen & Ginter chose opera gloves as the theme is revealing. Such gloves are associated with high society, so signal an attempt to attach the consumption of cigarettes to upward social mobility. Historical research into advertising trends, social history, and the cultural politics of the Gilded Age can reveal the social context that gave meaning to objects like these.