Field Spaniel, from the Dogs of the World series for Old Judge Cigarettes 1890

Editor: Here we have "Field Spaniel" from the "Dogs of the World" series, dating back to 1890. It's a print made with coloured pencils and looks like it was created for Old Judge Cigarettes. I'm really drawn to the soft textures, but also slightly confused by how a dog made its way onto cigarette packaging. What stands out to you? Curator: Well, it does make you wonder, doesn't it? Imagine, slipping a calming canine into your cigarette pack, maybe as a pre-emptive apology for the habit. It speaks volumes about how we try to reconcile comfort and, shall we say, questionable choices. The Field Spaniel itself, depicted with that almost photographic fidelity but rendered in soft, impressionistic lines… almost a gentle nod to our yearning for a simpler, perhaps less smoky, life. Does that gentle melancholy resonate with you too? Editor: I see what you mean. It’s like this idealized vision of pastoral life snuck into something so…industrial. It also kind of reminds me of those old Victorian portraits, almost stiffly posed. Curator: Precisely! A fixed moment, an ideal… but done with a human, almost fragile touch, wouldn't you say? Notice how the light catches in its fur, yet it never truly moves. It's trapped in amber, like a memory. It makes me consider: Were people more sentimental back then, or did they simply portray their sentiments differently? Editor: That’s fascinating. It really makes me see it in a new light. I originally just thought "dog advert", but now, seeing it as a symbol of yearning and sentimentality, makes it feel deeper somehow. Curator: And that, my dear Editor, is the beautiful paradox of art – it starts where you think it ends, often whispering stories we never anticipated. Every piece has the potential to be a whole world contained within a moment, even a dog on a cigarette card.