Line Officer, American Infantry, 1779, from the Military Series (N224) issued by Kinney Tobacco Company to promote Sweet Caporal Cigarettes 1888

This small chromolithograph, "Line Officer, American Infantry, 1779," was made by the Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company in 1879 as a promotional item for Sweet Caporal Cigarettes. Chromolithography is a color printing technique using multiple lithographic stones, each applying a different color ink to produce a full-color image. Consider how this mass-produced image differs from a hand-painted portrait. The textures are flat, the colors uniform, and the detail minimal, all dictated by the mechanical process. This speaks to the rise of consumer culture, where images, like tobacco, could be widely distributed and consumed. The card's subject matter - a soldier - further connects it to the broader socio-political context of American identity and patriotism. The image normalizes both militarism and tobacco consumption, subtly linking them in the public consciousness. By examining the materials and production of this card, we see how art, commerce, and national identity intertwined in late 19th-century America.