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

This chromolithograph of a dachshund was part of a series made in the late nineteenth century by Goodwin & Company, as collectible inserts for Old Judge Cigarettes. The magic of chromolithography lies in its intricate layering. Each color on the card was printed from a separate limestone matrix, meticulously etched and then pressed onto the paper. This was a highly skilled, labor-intensive process, reliant on the precise registration of each stone to build up the image. Look closely, and you can see the slightly blurred effect, a direct consequence of this method. These cards were essentially advertisements, mass-produced through repetitive industrial processes. But they also allowed for the widespread dissemination of images, bringing art, design, and breed recognition to a broader public. They show the blurred lines between high art and commercial craft in the age of industrialization, where every object, even a cigarette card, carries the weight of social and economic context.