Arabian Camel, from the Animals of the World series (T180), issued by Abdul Cigarettes 1881

This small chromolithograph of an Arabian Camel comes from a series produced by Abdul Cigarettes around the turn of the 20th century. Cigarette cards like these were a popular form of advertising, and this card, part of the "Animals of the World" series, cleverly links the exotic appeal of the East with the consumption of tobacco. The image presents a romanticized view of the Middle East. With the pyramids looming in the background, an Arabian man leads a camel, a scene that evokes notions of adventure and faraway lands. These visual codes are typical of Orientalist imagery, which often exoticized and simplified non-Western cultures for Western audiences. To truly understand this image, we can look into the history of advertising and the cultural fascination with the "Orient" during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Historical sources, like trade journals and cultural studies, can reveal how these images not only sold products but also reinforced prevailing social attitudes toward other cultures. This way, the image gains a deeper, richer meaning when we consider its broader social and institutional context.