James Longstreet, from the Great Generals series (N15) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes Brands 1888

Curator: Here we have a curious little piece, a portrait of James Longstreet, made in 1888 by Allen & Ginter as part of their "Great Generals" series for cigarette cards. Editor: It's... diminutive! And the rosy cheeks give it a rather bizarre feel for a military portrait. The color palette is pastel and that battle scene in the back seems oddly out of place. Curator: Cigarette cards like these were hugely popular at the time. They were collected, traded, and served as a form of advertising and, dare I say, education on popular figures. Note the tension here; Longstreet, a Confederate general, commodified into a commercial product by a Richmond, Virginia-based company just a couple of decades after the Civil War. Editor: I'm drawn to the surface and printing. It’s not simply a reproduction, right? There's something almost lithographic, or even a drawing, that brings it up to more than mere commercial fodder. Was there much handwork involved? Who were the unacknowledged laborers making these cards in their Richmond factory? Curator: A crucial question to ask. Mass production meant these images circulated widely, shaping public perception. Longstreet's inclusion—a controversial figure even then, given his criticisms of Lee after Gettysburg—says a lot about the complexities of historical memory and reconciliation in the post-Reconstruction South. These small portraits helped form opinion through accessible formats. Editor: That muted, soft rendering almost works to diffuse the intensity of that history, though. I wonder, too, about the material qualities of this little card and the casual disposal rate, its ephemerality versus the heavy subject matter. Curator: Absolutely, the context is fascinating. Consider this image within the larger project of shaping historical narratives. The politics of image-making! And how did its status as a tobacco product further normalize or even glorify such a figure? It's a provocative thought. Editor: Provocative indeed. A simple cigarette card becomes this portal to so much wider analysis— production methods, labor and distribution. Thanks to an unassuming general.