Eurus, from The World's Racers series (N32) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes 1888

This small chromolithograph was created by Allen & Ginter for their series of cigarette cards called 'The World's Racers'. Here we see a horse named Eurus, mid-trot, with his jockey. The very name 'Eurus' carries a powerful, ancient echo. In Greek mythology, Eurus is one of the Anemoi, the wind gods, specifically the bringer of the east wind. The symbolic weight of wind—equated with speed, breath, and the transmission of messages—resonates across cultures. We see this connection from Hermes, the fleet-footed messenger of the gods, to the Valkyries, who ride the winds to collect fallen heroes. Here, naming a racehorse after Eurus is no accident. It invokes that primal desire for speed, for victory, for the raw, untamed power of nature harnessed for human ambition. This image reminds us that these symbols are never static. They evolve, resurface, and are re-contextualized, revealing the enduring human fascination with speed.