Mignon, from the Illustrated Songs series (N116) issued by W. Duke, Sons & Co. to promote Honest Long Cut Tobacco 1893

Editor: This is "Mignon" from 1893, part of the Illustrated Songs series by W. Duke, Sons & Co., apparently to promote tobacco. It’s a small print and rather charming, if a bit melancholic. I’m curious, what sort of symbolic reading might we give this? Curator: The immediate association, of course, is the figure of Mignon herself – a character Goethe’s *Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship.* Think of her as embodying lost innocence, longing, and a yearning for a homeland she can never truly reclaim. Notice how her gaze drifts upward, seemingly beyond the frame. The musical instrument she holds – a mandolin, I believe – emphasizes this theme of longing. Music itself acts as a carrier of memory and emotion. Editor: That’s fascinating. So even though it's a tobacco ad, they are drawing on deeper cultural symbols? Curator: Precisely! Consider, too, the context. Late 19th-century audiences were deeply familiar with these literary and operatic references. Japonisme, which you noted in the description, played with surface, yet these artworks are deeply anchored within cultural narratives. Advertising then often used familiar cultural tropes to suggest aspiration and quality. This 'Mignon' offers not just tobacco, but a link to a romantic, somewhat tragic, artistic world. What does that connection evoke? Editor: I guess it makes the product feel a little more…refined, maybe? Less crass. I’d never considered advertising as a vehicle for cultural memory like that. Curator: Indeed. It’s a subtle play, layered with visual and cultural cues to elicit emotion and aspiration in the consumer. Images, then and now, speak volumes.