Jungle Fowl, from the Birds of the Tropics series (N5) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes Brands 1889

Editor: We're looking at "Jungle Fowl," created around 1889 by Allen & Ginter, part of their "Birds of the Tropics" series. It appears to be a print, possibly with watercolor or colored pencil. The colors are vibrant, and there's a sense of exoticism, but also it feels like a very contained, almost flattened image. What strikes you most about this piece? Curator: You know, it whispers "Japonisme" to me - that late 19th-century craze for all things Japanese. See how the composition is almost like a carefully arranged still life, less about the bird in its habitat and more about the bird as a beautiful object? Allen & Ginter were cigarette card pioneers; each card was an invitation to step into a different world, even while puffing away. Did it work? Well, consider we're still looking at this little jewel over a century later! Does that shift how you see it now? Editor: It does! I hadn't considered the commercial context or the influence of Japanese art, but that makes a lot of sense. It feels less like a scientific illustration now and more like… visual candy. Curator: Exactly! These cards offered a tantalizing glimpse of a wider world. They’re small portals—gateways to fantasy! Considering these cards as miniature dreams packaged with your daily dose of nicotine feels, admittedly, a little ridiculous in our very health-conscious present. Yet who hasn't loved something judged to be bad for them at one time or another, right? What I keep pondering is that by producing series of images Allen & Ginter inadvertently were helping cultivate a system of visual literacy that many enjoy today when interacting with NFTs and similar crypto-native collectibles. Do you see the parallel I'm drawing? Editor: It's an interesting thought. A tangible, mass-produced form of collecting exotica then, mirroring digital scarcity now... Curator: Maybe! Or perhaps I’m simply overthinking it as I puff my imaginary cigar... Thanks for sharing a smoke! Editor: Likewise! It’s fascinating to consider these cards not just as art, but as tiny windows into a very different era of consumption and collecting.