Jewel of the Order of the Thistle, Great Britain, from the World's Decorations series (N44) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes 1890

This is a chromolithograph of the Jewel of the Order of the Thistle, made in the United States for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes. Chromolithography was a popular printing technique in the late 19th century, known for its ability to produce colorful images, and used extensively in commercial applications like this one. The process involved creating multiple lithographic stones, one for each color, and then printing them in succession to build up the final image. Look closely and you can see the slight misalignments that are characteristic of this process. The Jewel itself, a symbol of Scottish chivalry, is rendered with meticulous detail, its radiant star and thistle motif evoking a sense of regal elegance. The choice of this subject matter for a cigarette card speaks to a broader cultural fascination with royalty and heraldry, and the commodification of these symbols for mass consumption. Consider the relationship between the skilled labor involved in chromolithography and the mass production of cigarettes, and how the two industries were intertwined in an economy of leisure and luxury.