Infantry, Hungarian, 1853, from the Military Series (N224) issued by Kinney Tobacco Company to promote Sweet Caporal Cigarettes 1888

This is “Infantry, Hungarian, 1853” a chromolithograph card made by Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company as a promotional item for Sweet Caporal Cigarettes. These cards were part of a series depicting military figures, tapping into the 19th-century fascination with military power. Here we see a Hungarian infantryman standing at attention, rifle in hand, a romantic, stoic figure. The precision of the uniform – the bright blue trousers, the ornate gold embellishments, and the neatly pressed white jacket – speak to the rigid structures of military life and the visual spectacle of empire. But think about the individual, too, subsumed by the uniform. What were his dreams? What class was he born into? These cards offer idealized, sanitized versions of military service, obscuring the brutal realities of war. While these images were consumed for enjoyment, they prompt us to reflect on how power is symbolized and normalized through such everyday objects.