Sahara, from the Types of All Nations series (N24) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes 1889

Editor: So, this small print, “Sahara, from the Types of All Nations series” by Allen & Ginter, dates back to 1889. It’s so tiny! It kind of reminds me of a playing card, or maybe one of those collectible cards you’d find in a pack of cigarettes. There's something melancholic in the man's gaze. What do you see in it? Curator: Oh, absolutely, these were indeed cigarette cards, wildly popular back in the day! And you're right, there is a world-weariness etched on his face, isn’t there? Beyond that, though, I see a potent cocktail of commercialism and… well, let’s call it ‘romantic exoticism’ that was so in vogue at the time. It is less a portrait and more an archetype. What does ‘Sahara’ mean when detached from a real person and stamped on a tobacco product, right? A man out of context. And the artist—if we can even use that term for something mass-produced—is selling a fantasy as much as the tobacco. Does this resonate at all with our own media landscape, and perhaps its own "romantic exoticism," even now? Editor: Definitely! It makes me think about representation and how easily stereotypes can be packaged and sold. The context of being a cigarette card completely changes how you view the image. Were people aware of that kind of… 'fantasy' back then? Curator: Good question! Some undoubtedly were. Think of travel writing, adventure novels… there was a huge appetite for the 'Orient', but filtered, curated. This card caters to that. And let’s be honest, we still consume images in ways that are packaged. It’s just more sophisticated now, isn't it? The filters and the framing change but the core dynamic sticks around. The business of storytelling and art... it gets you thinking, eh? Editor: Totally. It’s wild how a tiny piece of cardboard can hold so much. It's certainly made me rethink about those fleeting images we see every day. Thanks for pointing out some hidden treasures in this piece!