Orchard Oriole, from the Song Birds of the World series (N23) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes 1890

This small card, part of a series of cigarette cards by Allen & Ginter, depicts an Orchard Oriole perched among blossoming branches. The bird, with its vibrant reddish-orange plumage, is caught mid-song, its beak wide open in a vibrant display. Consider the oriole’s song – a motif found across cultures from ancient Greek myths of the nightingale’s sorrow to the songs of troubadours in medieval Europe, each telling tales of love, loss, and transformation. Here, the oriole perches in what appears to be a flowering tree, with its open beak pointing upwards to a hopeful future. The act of singing, of vocal expression, is deeply tied to human emotions and spirituality. Think of the ancient concept of the ‘music of the spheres,’ the idea that the cosmos itself vibrates with harmonious sounds. The oriole, as a symbol of song, carries this resonance. Through this, the oriole becomes an embodiment of life’s rhythms—a symbol of the perpetual cycle of expression and renewal.