Bolero, from National Dances (N225, Type 2) issued by Kinney Bros. 1889

This chromolithograph of a dancer was made by the Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company, probably in the 1880s, as a promotional item included in cigarette packs. It is from a series called “National Dances.” This image, like others in the series, capitalizes on the period’s fascination with exoticism and international culture. The dancer, adorned in what was likely considered Spanish garb, is performing the Bolero with a tambourine. As visual shorthand, the image evokes Spain. At the time, such imagery reinforced America’s burgeoning sense of itself as a global power, consuming and classifying the cultures of other nations. The dance is extracted from the culture, and the dancer is made generic. To understand the image more fully, one could research the Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company and the history of advertising. It's also useful to compare it to other images of dancers from this period. This helps us to appreciate how even a small commercial artwork can speak volumes about cultural exchange, power dynamics, and the very idea of nationhood.