Valkyrie III, 1895, from the Famous Ships series (N50) for Virginia Brights Cigarettes 1895

Allen and Ginter produced this photograph of Valkyrie III around 1895 as part of a series of collectible cards packaged with Virginia Brights Cigarettes. It's a modest artifact, but it speaks volumes about the culture of its time. The sepia-toned image, printed on thin card stock, captures the sleek lines of the racing yacht. Allen and Ginter were among the first to realize the promotional potential of mass-produced images. These cards, churned out by industrial printing presses, were tools of branding. They also reflect an era when leisure activities like yachting were becoming increasingly popular, but also commodified. The photograph flattens the yacht into a collectible item, and the beauty of the boat is subsumed to the world of advertising and mass consumption. Considering this little piece of ephemera, it prompts us to consider how artistry, industry, and leisure are always entangled.