Long Beach, Long Island, from the Surf Beauties series (N232), issued by Kinney Bros. 1889

This chromolithograph was made by Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company as a trade card. It comes from a series called "Surf Beauties." Trade cards like this one gained popularity in the late 19th century. They were cheap to produce and acted as advertisements, slipped into product packaging like cigarette boxes. Here, we see how the image of a fashionable woman is being used to sell tobacco products. The "Surf Beauties" series romanticized leisure and outdoor activities, connecting these aspirations to the consumption of tobacco. The card also speaks to changing social norms regarding women's roles and visibility in public spaces. While modest by today's standards, her bathing costume was quite daring for the time! This image participates in the shift toward more liberated representations of women in advertising, yet it also reinforces the objectification of women by associating them with consumer goods. Understanding images like this requires archival research into the history of advertising, the tobacco industry, and the changing status of women in society.