Snowshoe, from the Novelties series (N228, Type 4) issued by Kinney Bros. 1889

This small lithograph, "Snowshoe," was produced by the Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company as part of their Novelties series. These cards were inserted into cigarette packs and reflect the aesthetic of the late 19th century. The image presents a white woman framed by a snowshoe, a winter tool historically used by Indigenous peoples in North America. This juxtaposition is telling of the colonial gaze that appropriates and commodifies indigenous culture. The woman's refined features and fashionable attire speak to the consumer culture of the time, where beauty and novelty were packaged together to sell tobacco. The "Snowshoe" card transforms a functional object into a decorative emblem, indicative of broader societal trends where indigenous artifacts were often divorced from their original context and turned into exotic curiosities. Consider the layers of representation at play here: a commercial product, an idealized image of femininity, and a token of indigenous culture, all intertwined.