From the Girls and Children series (N64) promoting Virginia Brights Cigarettes for Allen & Ginter brand tobacco products 1886

Curator: What a curious artifact this is. Part of the "Girls and Children" series from 1886, it's a promotional item for Virginia Brights cigarettes, crafted by Allen & Ginter. You find this little drawing—executed with pencil and colored pencil, I believe—tucked away at The Met. Quite a contrast, wouldn't you say, between the innocence of childhood and... well, tobacco. Editor: My first thought? That little girl looks awfully suspicious stirring that pot. Like she's plotting something mischievous in her flower crown! It's got a fairytale gone slightly sideways vibe. And promoting cigarettes? With a kid? Yikes. Curator: The flowers—both in her hair and adorning her clothing—strike me as a deliberate invocation of purity and natural beauty, perhaps meant to subtly counter the harshness associated with smoking. Allen & Ginter knew exactly what symbols they were playing with here. They were trying to tell a story, albeit a manipulative one, about cigarettes. Editor: A story about childhood, domesticity, flowers—and subtle poisoning! The cognitive dissonance is strong with this one. But there's something alluring about it, too. That naive artistic style... it’s unsettling. It feels almost aggressively charming, if that makes any sense. Like a wolf in sheep's clothing... or rather, a cigarette ad dressed up as a precious little girl cooking. Curator: You know, the genre painting aspect is worth dwelling on too. This is no accident—the artistic strategy here is meant to evoke a sense of everyday life, almost a homey ideal...making you believe that, by association, those cigarettes are equally harmless, or perhaps even, delightful! Editor: Oh, I totally see it. A deceptive image…almost a caricature of Victorian virtue used to push an addictive product. The layers of meaning behind it are fascinatingly dark. The use of childhood innocence is what I think leaves an uncomfortable aftertaste. What did children represent in 1886 and what does it mean that those ideals were utilized for marketing ploys such as this? Curator: A darkness, indeed. It underscores the power of symbols to manipulate perception, to veil unpleasant realities with layers of manufactured nostalgia. This small print serves as a pretty big and grim reminder. Editor: True. Maybe this strange, bright cigarette card also unintentionally shows just how desperate advertisers can get… even selling what they are with, almost proverbially, their own children? Grim!