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

This is a lithograph of a giraffe, made for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes as part of their Wild Animals of the World series. The giraffe itself becomes a potent symbol of the exotic and the faraway. Look at how the giraffe's distinct height and spotted coat capture something profound about human curiosity and our enduring fascination with the natural world. This image is a window into a world that feels both familiar and utterly strange. In ancient Egypt, the giraffe was associated with divinity and royalty, often depicted in hieroglyphs and art as a symbol of grace. But here, it is presented as a commodity—an image that speaks to a more modern, mercantile era where even the wildest creatures become a collectible item, packaged and sold with cigarettes. Consider how these shifting contexts change our perception. What was once sacred becomes secular, bridging the gap between the ancient and the modern, revealing our ever-evolving relationship with nature.