Capitol of South Carolina in Columbia, from the General Government and State Capitol Buildings series (N14) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes Brands 1889

Editor: So, this print is titled "Capitol of South Carolina in Columbia" from 1889, part of the Allen & Ginter Cigarettes series. It’s a charming cityscape, but feels… oddly manufactured. What’s your take on this piece? Curator: Well, let’s consider its context. Produced as a cigarette card, its value wasn't primarily aesthetic. The image itself becomes a commodity, literally bundled with tobacco, marketed to a specific consuming public. How does this influence our understanding of it? Editor: I see what you mean. So, the *purpose* changes everything. The materials, the printmaking, becomes linked to the tobacco industry, mass production, marketing strategies of the time? Curator: Precisely. This "drawing" becomes an advertisement. We should examine the labor involved, the factories churning these out, the source of the ink, paper. What social class would have been collecting these? And what would they think about the building shown? Editor: That's fascinating! It flips the typical art historical focus. It isn't *just* a landscape anymore but really an artifact that can teach about society in a different way. Was the print-making considered 'art'? Curator: Not likely within the traditional fine art paradigm of the time. But examining the print as an industrial product collapses the boundary between high art and everyday consumption. Editor: So by examining the material and manufacturing, we start to uncover hidden narratives and about class, labor and commodity exchange. Thank you! Curator: Absolutely. The image here tells a story about American culture through a material lens.