Imperial Body Guard, Austria, 1850, from the Military Series (N224) issued by Kinney Tobacco Company to promote Sweet Caporal Cigarettes 1888

Curator: Oh my. The colours alone! Such a charming... absurdity? Editor: Indeed! This image is "Imperial Body Guard, Austria, 1850" from the Military Series (N224), dating back to 1888. It was originally produced by the Kinney Tobacco Company as a promotional insert for Sweet Caporal Cigarettes, which you can even see at the bottom. The prints are housed at The Met. Curator: Well, it’s certainly caught my eye. It's as if the artist had only *heard* about military uniforms. He looks rather like a dandelion about to seed. Editor: The artist perhaps gave himself license to create a caricature of power. The original purpose interests me. Imagine: one puffs away on one's cigarette and suddenly encounters this chap—a small portal to a bygone empire. How's that for a capitalist flourish? Curator: A *very* capitalist flourish! It really takes me back, you know? There's something deeply poignant about imagining someone collecting these cards, trading them with friends, tucking them away as little keepsakes of another world. It gives me that wistful quality when you discover a small treasure like a faded photograph in an old book. Editor: That’s a good analogy, given the media involved. These trade cards were mostly produced using chromolithography, allowing for vibrant colours that must have been incredibly appealing and made them highly collectible. Also, consider how it made art accessible. A taste of culture was available to those who might never set foot in a museum. Curator: And how disposable! This beautifully rendered guardsman, designed for ephemerality, now gracing museum walls... It makes me wonder if any art is truly destined to disappear completely. Editor: Or truly meant for immortality, perhaps. It highlights that art is not just the final product, but also the entire material process behind it. From the artist's hand to the printing press to the collector's album—all matter. Curator: Absolutely! And, in the end, something so simple, so... commercially driven, still holds enough strange beauty to capture our imagination generations later. It does make one think! Editor: Yes, indeed, it serves as a potent reminder to consider both the overt imagery and hidden mechanisms and cultural practices through which even a cigarette card can capture our imaginations today.