Commodore's Pennant, Denmark, from the Naval Flags series (N17) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes Brands 1886 - 1891

Curator: Isn’t it enchanting? Like a miniature window into a bygone era. Editor: It has the distinct allure of ephemera. This is "Commodore's Pennant, Denmark," one of the Naval Flags series by Allen & Ginter, dating back to somewhere between 1886 and 1891. Back then it was a promotional insert for cigarettes. Curator: That explains the feeling, like catching a whisper from a dream! There’s such a nostalgic blush to the palette—pinks melting into yellows, holding that bold Danish flag... and that Commodore, with his splendid beard and slightly world-weary expression. He’s magnificent. Editor: Those chromolithographic prints were churned out on an industrial scale, weren’t they? But looking closer, I can see the texture of the paper, the layering of the inks to produce that pink hue, even the slightly misregistered printing of colours on the commodore's face. Each tiny imperfection speaks volumes about the process, the labor... the very real conditions behind mass-produced fantasies. Curator: True, there's that industrial element to it, but isn’t it also interesting how something created so mechanically can spark such subjective and intimate emotions? The Commodore is an idealised image for the advertisement but yet his representation is one that might humanize the industry behind it, despite the lack of details about the sitter. It also strikes me: it's almost like a miniature stage, set for the theater of dreams and adventure. Editor: Or the theatre of global trade and colonial ambition, packaged in colourful lithography for the consumption of Gilded Age smokers. Allen & Ginter turned national symbols into collectible commodities, didn’t they? Think of all those people buying, trading and sticking those into albums. An exercise in branding, world view and self-making, if you ask me. Curator: That's the delight of art, isn't it? One little rectangle and suddenly, we’re sailing across oceans of ideas, personal and cultural. It's all contained here; labor, commodity, adventure... and a beard that could launch a thousand ships! Editor: Exactly. This seemingly trivial object gives a unique purchase into the economic machinery and aesthetic values of its time. Curator: Leaving us pondering not just what they smoked back then, but what stories they were inhaling, one card, one flag, one magnificent beard at a time.