Racing Canoe, from the Types of Vessels series (N139) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Honest Long Cut Tobacco 1889

Curator: So, this is a 'Racing Canoe' from a series titled "Types of Vessels," issued in 1889 by Duke Sons & Co. It was designed to promote their Honest Long Cut Tobacco, a marketing tactic of the time, and now it resides here with us at the Met. Editor: The canoe slices right through the water... I almost feel the cool spray. What strikes me is the tranquility radiating despite being a *racing* canoe. A solitary figure with his back to us, a lone sailor, facing adventure on his own. Is it serene or lonely, I can’t tell. Curator: Precisely. Genre painting served multiple functions, offering insight into popular culture as well as reinforcing social norms, and tobacco cards depicting recreational scenes were exceptionally popular. This miniaturized impressionism promoted the enjoyment of leisure alongside—of course—tobacco. These cards were incredibly successful in mass marketing at the turn of the century, normalizing and idealizing aspects of everyday life. Editor: What about the materiality here, it looks as if the piece was printed, maybe as a lithograph, yet also seems to include drawing using coloured pencil, right? Also, it looks unfinished. The edges of the paper seem as though this tiny landscape was clipped right out of a larger print… or perhaps cut that way intentionally? It is just an object intended to push tobacco. I bet it ended up crumpled in someone's pocket or carelessly discarded more than treasured for beauty... Curator: It’s quite possible. Duke and other tobacco companies banked on both the collecting craze and recognizability to cement brand loyalty, mass producing cards cheaply in both drawing and print format. That also explains the paper cut-out. A larger, rectangular format may have looked cheap. But here, because the focus remains on its beautiful landscape and canoeist, they appeal to something other than merely functionality. In so doing, they create desire for not just tobacco, but for what tobacco represents here: a gateway to leisure and finer experiences. Editor: A well-baited hook indeed! To wrap things up, it seems we agree it's far more than just a bit of paper trying to sell tobacco, but rather, as is so often the case, speaks to us still across these many years about societal drives, ambitions, and longings. It makes me reflect upon the landscapes I encounter today on mass market posters and postcards and wonder what narratives they'll be telling about us a century from now. Curator: Nicely put. For me, it shows how marketing intertwines with our social lives, even infiltrating something as serene and seemingly innocent as a day on the water.