Bread Fruit, from the Fruits series (N12) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes Brands 1891

Curator: This vibrant little card, dating back to 1891, is entitled "Bread Fruit, from the Fruits series (N12) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes Brands." The image, currently held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, features color pencils and print media. It really reflects some fascinating aspects of its era. Editor: Well, my first impression is that it is oddly charming, if also a little… jarring. The girl holding what I presume are the breadfruits seems almost… hyper-real, amidst a very stylized background. Does it strike you as that, a little bit unsettling? Curator: The "Fruits Series," like other trade cards, served primarily as advertising tools, inserting exotic imagery of people from distant lands into the daily lives of consumers in the West. These cards were strategically collected and traded and say much about attitudes and perceptions during the height of Western imperialism. Editor: Exactly! I mean, look at the composition. The figure of the girl, with all her supposed ‘exotic’ allure—the dark skin, the golden hoops. She is transformed into an object of curiosity and, indeed, consumption. Even the pink gradient reminds me of that exotic and kitsch 19th-century vision. The pink and the fruit's skin give me goosebumps... Curator: Indeed, such images are often rooted in the orientalist idea, as if these cultures were exotic or different. And that's reflected on those colors you point, that give the exotic "punch" that makes you be fascinated, that turns her and the breadfruit into eye-catching objects, to increase interest in cigarette brand, Allen & Ginter. This all tells a bigger story about colonial commerce, objectification, and marketing tactics of that time. Editor: Precisely. You’re suddenly hyper-aware that you're not just looking at pretty colors or even exotic representation but you're facing all the cultural weight packed within it. Curator: Well, looking at the artwork with fresh eyes definitely deepens our insights, doesn’t it? Editor: Yes, that unsettling first impression then opens doors for greater exploration.