Miss Atkinson in Colors of Glenelg Yacht Club, from the Yacht Colors of the World series (N140) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Honest Long Cut Tobacco 1890

This small card of Miss Atkinson in the colors of the Glenelg Yacht Club was made by W. Duke Sons & Co. around the turn of the century as a promotional item for Honest Long Cut Tobacco. What might seem like a simple portrait of a young woman is in fact deeply embedded in the social norms of its time. The late 19th century was a time of increasing consumerism, and tobacco companies used these cards to entice customers. Often, the cards featured images of idealized women, reinforcing gender roles. Miss Atkinson, adorned in the yacht club's colors, speaks to the aspirations of the middle classes and the pursuit of leisure activities. We see a world in which sporting clubs acted as powerful institutions of social life. In order to properly understand this image, we can consult archives relating to advertising history, the history of tobacco production, and the emergence of leisure culture. The meaning of art is always contingent on social and institutional context.