Monkey, from Quadrupeds series (N41) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes 1890

This lithograph of a monkey, as well as associated birds and vegetation, was made by Allen & Ginter, a cigarette company, as a collectible insert. The image is defined by the flatness of the printed medium. Chromolithography, as this technique is known, allowed for inexpensive reproduction in dazzling color. Though appearing to depict a tropical scene, it is less an exercise in realism than one in commercial branding. Consider the material and its function: a small card, quickly consumed and discarded. It testifies to the rise of mass-produced imagery alongside that of mass-produced goods. The very accessibility of chromolithography also allowed for widespread distribution, thus shaping social and cultural values. This cheap print was not intended to be a precious object, but it nonetheless conveys meaning. It encouraged its viewers to see themselves as worldly, cultured. Ultimately, this simple card reminds us that even the most apparently trivial artifacts can reflect larger trends in labor, politics, and consumption.