Bavarian Postillion, from World's Smokers series (N33) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes 1888

Editor: This is "Bavarian Postillion" by Allen & Ginter, from 1888, a print, I believe initially for a cigarette card. It’s quaint, almost like a tiny stage character, all dressed up and smoking. What do you make of it? Curator: It’s fascinating how these seemingly simple cards reflect a complex social and cultural landscape. Cigarette cards, like this one, weren't just marketing; they were powerful tools for disseminating images and ideas about identity, occupation, and even national character. The "Bavarian Postillion" becomes a token representing a certain romanticized version of European culture sold to American consumers. Editor: Romanticized how? It just seems like a portrait of a guy with a pipe. Curator: Exactly! Think about the act of smoking, heavily marketed and associated with sophistication, and think of the carefully chosen "types" represented – here, the Bavarian Postillion, suggesting reliability and old-world charm. It reinforces ideas of European identity and cultural prestige that American consumers were eager to acquire, even symbolically. It participates in the marketing of Europe. Do you see the small-scale, almost idealized representation, working to present it to a large audience, and shape their desires? Editor: That makes me consider the reach this image had; these cards came with something millions of people used. Now I see how it is more than just a picture. Curator: And by framing figures like the Bavarian Postillion within a larger "World's Smokers" series, Allen & Ginter create a sort of taxonomy of desirable identities linked to consumerism. This little card encodes much about how culture and commerce intersected. Editor: Wow, that is far more involved than I had considered. This makes you wonder about the people who collected and the cultural ideas they had, influenced by this artwork.