Ike Weir, Pugilist, from World's Champions, Series 1 (N28) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes 1887

This small chromolithograph depicts Ike Weir, a Canadian boxer, and was produced by Allen & Ginter, a cigarette company, in the late 19th century. The image is part of a series called "World's Champions," which tells us something about the cultural values of the time. The late 1800s saw a boom in commercial imagery used to promote consumer products. Cigarette companies distributed these cards to stiffen their packaging and to encourage brand loyalty. The images presented role models, and so helped to define ideals of masculinity and success. Note the bare-chested pose of the boxer. How does it create meaning through visual codes, cultural references, and historical associations? To understand this image better, one could research the history of advertising and the rise of consumer culture in the United States. Consideration should be given to the construction of celebrity, and the role of sports in shaping national identity. What was the public role of art at that time? The meaning of art is contingent on the social and institutional context.