From the series "Sports Girls" (C190), issued by the American Cigarette Company, Ltd., Montreal, to promote Gloria Cigarettes 1885 - 1895

Curator: Looking at "From the series 'Sports Girls'," a colored-pencil print created between 1885 and 1895, and issued by the American Cigarette Company, the immediate impression is one of playful exaggeration. Editor: Indeed, a visual dance of curved and straight lines gives the figure a sturdy, yet fluid presence. What strikes me is the rather complex gender presentation; while presenting what society would consider female, the figure presents itself in traditionally male-coded equestrian gear, giving the impression that she may actually be nonbinary, or androgynous. The figure confidently engages the audience in a full-body shot. It's empowering, almost confrontational. Curator: Note how the color composition functions here, too. The restrained palette highlights the primary colors of the outfit: red, white, and blue against that almost beige ground of the paper itself. It lends itself to a sort of heightened contrast. It creates visual interest. The overall two-dimensionality really emphasizes flatness—typical of prints from this time. Editor: Right, that deliberate flatness serves to de-emphasize realism. But, the attire…a “sports girl” presented in late Victorian advertising? There’s a tension here, almost satirical. Consider the historical context: growing female participation in sports met resistance. So, a figure presented to advertise to potential customers suggests a disruption to societal norms, a challenge to conventional roles of women in a hyper-masculine world of business and sport. Curator: Perhaps; what you refer to is what is termed Japonisme; a fashionable design trend influenced by flat color planes, and dynamic composition stemming from Japanese Ukiyo-e prints. Here it serves to flatten depth, enhance the design and bring it back to form. Editor: And yet, the print still signifies something profound, perhaps beyond commercial intention. As much as it's trying to engage a new target demographic, doesn’t it also subtly depict women claiming agency in leisure and commerce? It's a reminder that even within promotional materials, we can find cultural moments of female empowerment. Curator: I remain fascinated by its composition— the lines, form and color planes. Editor: And I, by the narratives that those forms inadvertently help to construct and to either normalize or subvert our assumptions about gender roles within our societies.