Woman wearing pointed cap, from the Novelties series (N228, Type 2) issued by Kinney Bros. 1889

Editor: This is "Woman wearing pointed cap" from the Novelties series, created by Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company in 1889. It appears to be a print, maybe even a drawing reproduced as a print. I'm struck by how delicate the colours are for what I assume was essentially an advertisement. What do you make of its status as both art and advertising? Curator: That tension is precisely where the interest lies. It's a piece of mass-produced ephemera intended to drive consumption. But look at the labor involved: the design, the engraving, the printing process itself. Each step implicates human hands and economic relationships. How does the mass production cheapen artistic labor? Editor: That’s interesting. I hadn’t considered the labor involved in something like this beyond the initial artwork. So, by focusing on its creation, are you saying we can understand broader economic forces at play? Curator: Precisely! Consider the Ukiyo-e influence – Japanese prints admired and collected in the West at the time. Kinney Brothers are leveraging this high-art association to elevate their product. Is this appropriation? A celebration? How are they consuming and repurposing cultural trends? Editor: It's definitely a commercial strategy, but it's also making art more accessible to a wider audience, in a way, by embedding it within everyday life. Curator: Good point. And who is this ‘wider audience’? A materialist reading forces us to consider the social context: who is consuming tobacco, and what image of femininity is being presented to them? This dainty portrait probably resonated strongly in the middle class. Editor: It’s amazing how a seemingly simple image can reveal such complex layers when you start looking at the materials, the process and the context in which it was made. Curator: Yes, by exploring its material existence, we uncover power dynamics and cultural exchange masked by the artwork’s pleasing aesthetics.