Esquimaux, from Types of Nationalities (N240) issued by Kinney Bros. 1890

This lithograph, printed by the Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company, presents an ‘Esquimaux’ as part of a series on global nationalities. The figure's fur-clad body, intended to symbolize resilience against harsh climates, unwittingly evokes primal notions of survival. Consider how such imagery mirrors the myth of the ‘noble savage,’ a recurring figure from antiquity to the Enlightenment. Here, the association of fur with a so-called primitive state echoes the bestial attire of figures like Enkidu from the Epic of Gilgamesh. In each, the attire signifies a life lived closer to nature, a concept fraught with cultural projections. The cold, which is said to have made him sad, might be viewed as a melancholic undercurrent. This emotional vulnerability, often hidden beneath the symbolic furs, surfaces throughout art history, from classical depictions of suffering to Romantic expressions of solitude. As such, the lithograph becomes more than a simple cultural type. Instead, it serves as a canvas for the projection of our collective anxieties and desires.