Virginia and France (double-printed card), from Flags of All Nations, Series 1 (N9) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes Brands 1887

Editor: This lithograph is "Virginia and France," a double-printed card from 1887, made by Allen & Ginter. It’s a very small print, maybe for packaging? The imagery is so busy, a real mashup of flags and symbols, and yet there’s something very old-fashioned and patriotic about it. What catches your eye? Curator: Immediately, I'm struck by the tension between its overt patriotic imagery and its existence as a cigarette card. This was a time of intense rebuilding in the American South, deeply implicated in white supremacist ideology. Cigarette cards were instruments of popular culture, widely distributed. This card, in its juxtaposition of Virginia and France, invites us to consider the legacies of colonialism and revolution, and how those ideas were mobilized – perhaps deceptively – within a consumer culture. Editor: So, it’s not just a decorative item? What about the motto shown: "Sic Semper Tyrannis"? Curator: Exactly. "Thus always to tyrants." Whose tyranny is being invoked here? Is it a statement of rebellion or a justification of dominance? And who is depicted on top of a body? It calls to mind powerful men taking what they wanted. Consider the historical moment: Reconstruction was failing Black Americans. Editor: It makes me see how simple patriotic imagery can obscure complex issues. The history of propaganda is very rich! Curator: Absolutely. Even the seemingly innocent aesthetic choices here—the fleur-de-lis, the color palette—become sites of inquiry when viewed through a critical lens. The past has shaped the present. What do you take away? Editor: To think critically about not only what is there but also what is left unsaid. Thanks!