Audobons Warbler, from the Song Birds of the World series (N23) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes 1890

Curator: This is a card from Allen & Ginter's "Song Birds of the World" series, dating back to 1890. It features an Audobon's Warbler rendered in colored pencil and print. I find it quite charming, like a miniature world. Editor: Charming is one word, I'd say more that its striking in its formal composition. Note the placement of the bird; perched so deliberately, the contrast between its feathers, all blues and golds, and the soft pinks of the flowering branch behind. Curator: It's interesting to consider the context of these cards. Allen & Ginter was a major tobacco company, and these cards were inserted into cigarette packs. This image wasn’t necessarily about pure aesthetics; it was about enticing consumers. Editor: Indeed. But we can still consider it aesthetically. Look at the precision, how the artist captured the light on its feathers, the way the colours interact! The effect is one of vitality, the bird almost appears to be in motion. There is an underlying Ukiyo-e influence, too. Curator: Absolutely, but to me the material reality of its production is paramount. These cards were mass-produced, contributing to a broader culture of collecting and consumerism. Think about the labor involved, not just of the artist, but the printers, the factory workers packing the cigarettes. Editor: Granted, the image itself draws your eye, doesn't it? The artist employs very simple but effective tricks using colour and placement, the bird immediately pops off the card. Curator: It's important to also consider how these images shape our understanding of nature. Was it purely decorative or did they, perhaps unintentionally, spark an interest in ornithology among everyday consumers? Editor: Perhaps it’s a conflation of the two? Creating desire and then offering just a bit of information that created intrigue and desire in the end. I cannot look away from the detail and placement of all the elements, each specifically where they are to lead you. Curator: A nice collision of form and material I must say, there, Editor! That contrast tells us so much more than perhaps just its design or function alone, but speaks to so many other questions one could have when considering the role and material creation of such cards, doesn’t it? Editor: Precisely! Seeing how that little warbler leads you to consider that interplay is a lovely summation.