Monocle and Eye (brown), from Jocular Ocular series (N221) issued by Kinney Bros. 1889

"Monocle and Eye", was one of a series of trade cards printed by the Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company in 1889. It’s a simple chromolithograph, a mass-produced advertising token distributed with their cigarettes. The image depicts a large, bloodshot, brown eye staring out at the viewer. The "Jocular Ocular" series traded on the novelty of close-up, slightly grotesque, images that would catch the eye of consumers in shops or bars. It reflects the rise of mass media and consumer culture in the late 19th century. The trade card existed to promote the consumption of tobacco, but it also reflects anxieties about seeing and being seen, and the rise of a more visually saturated culture. We can understand this small artwork as a cultural artifact that reflected the changing social landscape of America in the late 19th century. Historians can use these trade cards, along with company records, census data, and visual culture studies to understand the complex relationships between art, commerce, and society.