Croatia, from the Dancing Girls of the World series (N185) issued by Wm. S. Kimball & Co. 1889

This small chromolithograph was produced by the Wm. S. Kimball & Co. as part of the "Dancing Girls of the World" series. The company was known for including these cards in their cigarette packs. What we see here is an idealized image of a Croatian woman, frozen in mid-dance. While seemingly benign, this card, like others in the series, participates in a long history of exoticizing and objectifying women from different cultures. These images were often created with little regard for accuracy, reinforcing stereotypes and colonial power dynamics. The woman's garb, a romanticized version of traditional Croatian folk dress, flattens the diverse cultural expressions of an entire nation into a single, consumable image. Consider how this image might have shaped perceptions of Croatian identity for American consumers. It’s a potent reminder of the ways in which images can both reflect and distort cultural realities.