Private, 69th Regiment, National Guard of the State of New York, from the Military Series (N224) issued by Kinney Tobacco Company to promote Sweet Caporal Cigarettes 1888

Editor: Here we have "Private, 69th Regiment, National Guard of the State of New York," a print created around 1888 by the Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company. It's surprisingly detailed for a cigarette card! What initially strikes me is the stark formality, almost stiff, in the portraiture. What's your read on it? Curator: Well, darling, you’ve already nailed a key element – the formality. It's a painted snapshot, isn't it? Consider that these weren’t made as “high art”, yet, observe how meticulously he's rendered! Think of those colored pencils scratching and shading the man's likeness. What does his expression suggest to you? It is confident bravado or vacant stoicism? Editor: Hmm, vacant stoicism, perhaps. I mean, he's just standing there, holding a rifle. It feels almost…impersonal? Curator: Impersonal, yes! Precisely! It’s like gazing at a ghost of turn-of-the-century machismo, frozen forever on this tiny, throwaway stage, a man selling smoke and… well, expectations of military glory. This work could not be anymore performative in what is depicting: masculinity. Editor: So, it's less about the individual and more about…the ideal of a soldier? Curator: An ideal *packaged* as a commodity, love. The very act of collecting and trading these cards mirrors a national narrative about ownership and expansion at the time, too, don't you think? A curious bit of cultural ephemera isn’t it? A beautiful piece of work but what does it mean now we look at it through present day lenses. Editor: I hadn’t thought about that! It definitely makes you look at this simple picture of a soldier in a different way. Curator: Isn't that the delight? To scratch the surface, revealing something unexpected underneath!