Orchard Oriole, from the Song Birds of the World series (N42) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes 1890

Editor: Here we have "Orchard Oriole," a watercolor and print made around 1890 by Allen & Ginter, as part of their "Song Birds of the World" series for cigarette cards. I’m struck by how delicate and serene it is, almost like a Japanese ukiyo-e print. What do you see in this piece? Curator: It's interesting you mention ukiyo-e. These trade cards often drew from and appropriated other cultural aesthetics to signal "worldliness". But, it's crucial to recognize the colonial context of such appropriations. What does it mean to represent 'exotic' songbirds on products designed to be consumed globally, when so many species were threatened or exploited? How does consumerism intersect with our relationship to the natural world? Editor: So, you’re saying it’s not just a pretty bird, but part of a bigger picture of cultural and environmental impact? Curator: Exactly. This image is embedded within a history of commodification, a system where even nature becomes a marketable object. Who had access to these images? What kind of ideas did they circulate about the world? And, crucially, whose voices were silenced in the process? Editor: I see what you mean. The card seems to flatten the complexity of these birds and their habitats. It almost romanticizes our impact on the world. Curator: Precisely. Consider the implied promise that cigarettes are the best, like these 'best' birds. Do you feel a tension between this commercial claim and its environmental suggestion? Editor: Yes! Now I can't help but wonder if this imagery actually encouraged any awareness or care for these birds, or just further detached people from the natural world. Curator: These objects invite us to think critically about the historical and contemporary power dynamics that shape our understanding of the environment, culture, and consumption. It reminds us to question what values and voices are centered—and decentered—by images like these. Editor: I never thought a cigarette card could hold so much history. Thanks, I learned so much today.