H.M.S. Colossus, Royal Navy, from the Naval Vessels of the World series (N226) issued by Kinney Bros. 1889

Editor: Here we have "H.M.S. Colossus, Royal Navy" from the Naval Vessels of the World series, created in 1889 by Kinney Bros. It appears to be a watercolor print, and the detail for such a small card is pretty impressive. What's your take on it? Curator: This unassuming little card opens up a vast and troubling history. The H.M.S. Colossus represents the height of British naval power in the late 19th century. We must ask ourselves: what did that power represent and who did it serve? Editor: I hadn’t really considered that angle. I was just looking at the ship itself. Curator: Precisely. It's easy to get caught up in the aesthetics, the ship depicted as a symbol of national pride and technological advancement. But look closer – what does it mean to celebrate these warships when their very purpose was to enforce colonial domination and protect economic interests acquired through violence and exploitation? Editor: So, you're saying the image itself is a kind of propaganda? Curator: Indeed. Tobacco cards like these were ubiquitous, normalizing imperial power and the associated ideologies of racial and cultural superiority. Consider how freely the manufacturers circulated these images, contributing to the pervasiveness of a pro-empire ideology. Editor: That’s a lot to unpack from such a small picture! I’ll definitely look at these types of images differently going forward. Curator: That’s the aim, to challenge what seems obvious, to critically examine these "innocent" images, and understand how they shaped – and continue to shape – our understanding of history.