Officer, Pawtucket Horse Guards, Rhode Island, from the Military Series (N224) issued by Kinney Tobacco Company to promote Sweet Caporal Cigarettes 1888

Editor: This little lithograph, dating back to 1888, features an officer from the Pawtucket Horse Guards, Rhode Island. It's part of a series of collectible cards issued by the Kinney Tobacco Company. There’s a kind of quaint formality about it, even a slight absurdity, with the ornate uniform and somewhat stiff pose. What stands out to you about it? Curator: Absurdity is a great word for it! It strikes me as a potent image steeped in 19th-century aspirations and anxieties. Look at the rigid posture, almost comical in its severity. He's ready for anything. War? A parade? An advertisement for cigarettes? And those tassels! The whole thing smacks of trying just a bit too hard to be impressive. Do you think that's intentional? Editor: It's hard to say! The theatrical quality almost makes it feel satirical. What kind of statement was the Kinney Tobacco Company trying to make with these cards? Was it glorifying military life or something else entirely? Curator: Excellent question. These cards were designed to sell cigarettes. That's point number one. Glorifying an ideal, yes, but mostly glorifying consumption. The uniform is less about the man wearing it and more about selling a particular lifestyle or aspiration. A fantasy world. Look how carefully the details of the uniform are rendered, each button a tiny jewel, a promise of status. Did it work? Well, we're still talking about it 150 years later, aren't we? Editor: That’s a good point. I never really thought about advertisement art influencing history and its memory in such a nuanced manner! Curator: And that, my friend, is the beauty of art. It makes us ask the interesting questions, no matter the format. Even, and perhaps especially, when tucked inside a cigarette pack.