Porcupine, from the Wild Animals of the World series (N25) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes 1888

Curator: Ah, here we have "Porcupine," a chromolithograph dating back to 1888, part of the "Wild Animals of the World" series produced by Allen & Ginter for their cigarette packs. It’s now held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Editor: It's quite endearing, really. Something about its fuzzy, almost painterly rendering. Makes me want to reach out and... well, maybe not touch it, considering! But you get a sense of gentleness despite the prickles. Curator: These cards served a dual purpose. First, obviously, advertising—the commercial angle of cigarette sales, popular culture merging with commodity. But, crucially, also education, right? Broadening public knowledge about the natural world, albeit through a lens of exoticism and imperial reach. Editor: Definitely, that thirst for knowledge cloaked in a veneer of something less than scientific. Did kids really swap these the way they did baseball cards? I can see a youngster yearning for the "Bengal Tiger" instead of…well, a mere porcupine. No offense to the fellow. Curator: Ha! Perhaps! These cards acted as mini-encyclopedias and talking points, sparking interest in natural history but deeply connected to how society constructed knowledge during this period. We can trace colonial patterns through the series of exotic animals chosen and depicted. Editor: It feels a bit posed, too. Like a formal portrait – look how thoughtfully they have arranged the foliage. He, the porcupine, looks serene enough for having his image mass-produced. And the detail of the shading hints that the producers saw him, and other animals like him, as being quite special. The small-scale beauty gives pause in today's large-scale world. Curator: Precisely, that tension – industrial capitalism alongside a yearning for something "wild." Editor: Ultimately, a glimpse into both nature and ourselves from over a century ago. Amazing how much we learn just from a little porcupine on a tiny card. Curator: Indeed! And perhaps a subtle reminder that even the prickliest subjects deserve a closer look.