Quartermaster-Sargeant, Infantry, United States Army, 1886, from the Military Series (N224) issued by Kinney Tobacco Company to promote Sweet Caporal Cigarettes 1888

This lithograph was produced in 1886 by the Kinney Tobacco Company as part of a series of collectible cards included in packs of Sweet Caporal Cigarettes. These cards, like many marketing materials of the time, offer a window into the prevailing social attitudes and cultural values. Note how the image presents a romanticized, almost idealized vision of military service. The Quartermaster-Sergeant is depicted in full dress uniform, embodying an image of order and authority, but it is important to remember that this image was carefully constructed. Kinney Brothers were keen to promote a specific vision of American identity. These images served to normalize and even celebrate the military's role in a society still grappling with the aftermath of the Civil War and the ongoing displacement of Indigenous peoples. The card is a reminder of how deeply intertwined commercial interests were, and continue to be, with the construction of national identity and historical memory.