Violaceous, from the Birds of the Tropics series (N5) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes Brands 1889

Curator: Alright, let's dive into this captivating little piece. What strikes you immediately about this... "Violaceous"? Editor: Well, initially, I am taken by how melancholic it feels; the bird itself seems a bit burdened, a feeling heightened by the muted jewel tones. Curator: This work comes to us from the Birds of the Tropics series (N5) from 1889, created for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes Brands. Think of it as early advertisement—a small chromolithograph, incorporating drawing and colored pencil techniques. Editor: Fascinating! So it's meant to sell cigarettes...and it uses this somber yet exotic bird to do it? How strange the dynamics of desire. Were people moved to smoke by it? I see it now as an emblem of some long lost era, steeped in exotic fantasies and manufactured realities. Curator: Absolutely, the company wanted to cultivate an association of sophistication. Consider the mass production involved. These cards were churned out en masse, small collectibles, little bits of luxury meant to circulate within everyday life—packaged with nicotine. It is this democratization, so to speak, this wide-spread circulation of the image among people, this is quite impactful for me. Editor: I’m looking at it from another side, trying to conjure a world that saw these birds through a haze of longing. This image feels like something you'd find pressed between the pages of a loved book. Something almost forgotten now. There's an aching tenderness here, knowing this fragile piece connects us, however obliquely, to our forebears. Curator: I find that by dissecting the production, reception, and socioeconomic conditions that supported pieces like these opens us to broader art conversations. What we might call, art versus commodity. The art, the bird itself as object versus the production value to be able to sell the very package it came in. It opens doors of examination. Editor: Exactly! Curator: A truly fascinating interplay of art, commerce, and history embedded in something so modest. Editor: A quiet bird singing its industrial song; yes.