Fandango, from National Dances (N225, Type 1) issued by Kinney Bros. 1889

Editor: So, this is *Fandango*, from *National Dances*, created in 1889 by Kinney Brothers. It seems to be a colored-pencil print. It's really striking, the colors are so vivid for something so old. What stands out to you when you look at it? Curator: Well, first, I am interested in this image's origin as a tobacco card insert. It invites us to think about art's relationship to commerce and mass production. The "National Dances" series would have been inexpensive to produce, distributed widely to promote Kinney Brothers, and designed for disposal rather than preservation, making surviving examples precious objects today. What can you tell me about the materials employed and the labor processes behind it? Editor: I notice it’s “colored-pencil,” and labeled as “print.” The mark making gives it a very intimate feel, and those colors definitely feel applied mechanically. Curator: Exactly. Do you see the layering and repetition in the patterns on the skirt? How do these processes, both mechanical and handmade, contribute to your reading of the image and its cultural value? Editor: Now that you point it out, I see the slightly crude registration and subtle inconsistencies that indicate printing over hand-drawn elements. It adds a certain handmade quality that you wouldn’t necessarily expect from something mass-produced. Does this somehow validate the artwork’s aesthetic quality? Curator: Whether this validates the *artwork's* quality is not, for me, the central issue. Instead, understanding its conditions of production helps reveal the complex web of material practices, social relations, and consumption that defines it as both a commercial product *and* a cultural artifact. That tension is, perhaps, more telling. Editor: That gives me a completely new way to look at advertising art; I see that labor and context really enrich my understanding. Thank you! Curator: Likewise; your attention to the surface of the piece highlighted critical qualities that deepen my inquiry into it!