African Woman of Niam-Niam, from Types of Nationalities (N240) issued by Kinney Bros. 1890

This chromolithograph of an ‘African Woman of Niam-Niam’ was produced by the Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company as a collectible card. It was part of a series called "Types of Nationalities," which reflected and reinforced the social norms of late 19th-century America. The image presents a highly stylized and exoticized view of an African woman, likely a member of the Niam-Niam people of Central Africa. The woman's lip plate and other adornments are presented as marks of otherness. This imagery coincided with the height of European colonialism in Africa. The card served to create and perpetuate stereotypes. These would have legitimized imperialist projects by constructing Africans as fundamentally different and ‘primitive’. Understanding this image requires a critical approach, examining the historical context of its production and circulation. Resources in advertising history and postcolonial studies can shed light on the cultural and political meanings embedded in such images. It reminds us that art and visual culture are always products of their time, shaped by prevailing social and institutional forces.