Bicycle, from the Novelties series (N228, Type 4) issued by Kinney Bros. 1889

Editor: This is a rather unusual print from 1889, created by the Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company. It's part of their Novelties series, featuring a woman framed within the large wheel of a bicycle. There's something quite charming and old-fashioned about it. What symbols or meanings do you find resonate most strongly? Curator: It’s fascinating how the bicycle wheel almost acts as a halo, encircling her head, but consider how tobacco companies were adept at associating their products with desirable images – in this case, modernity and freedom symbolized by the bicycle. The "high wheeler" bicycle itself had strong class associations at this time. What stories might this image be trying to tell, connecting smoking with adventure and the empowered woman? Editor: That's interesting; I hadn't considered the connection between smoking and female empowerment. Curator: Think about how the woman's placement within the bicycle wheel transforms it into a lens, magnifying and perhaps idealizing her. How does it shape her narrative? Does it create an interesting juxtaposition between modern technology and perhaps conventional roles? The cap might hint to a breaking down of social and gender constraints; it allows her mobility. Editor: I suppose I initially saw it as simply a charming image. Curator: Perhaps consider how cultural memory gets woven into such seemingly innocent images, silently embedding complex ideas that shape desires. Editor: So much to unpack from something so small. It's definitely given me a different perspective. Thanks! Curator: Indeed. It's the visual echoes from our collective past that makes these images truly resonant and relevant to our understanding.