Picolo the Cigar Boy c. 1862

Curator: There’s a quiet melancholy to this oval portrait, “Picolo the Cigar Boy,” attributed to George Kendall Warren. It’s a sepia photograph, capturing a young man posed formally against what seems like a studio backdrop. Editor: That pillar looks awfully cardboard-y, doesn’t it? I'm drawn to what he's holding. Looks like a cigar box, maybe an early example of marketing aimed at children? Curator: Indeed! The boy’s occupation is right there in the title, offering a glimpse into labor practices, and the consumption habits of the era. Editor: It certainly sparks questions about childhood, class, and the commodification of pretty much everything. Curator: A somber little meditation, framed within the light and shadow of its time. Editor: Makes you wonder about the boy’s life, and the journey those cigars took to get there.