Gendarme of the Guard, Austria, 1850, from the Military Series (N224) issued by Kinney Tobacco Company to promote Sweet Caporal Cigarettes 1888

This image shows an Austrian Gendarme of the Guard from 1850 and it was made by Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company as an advertisement for Sweet Caporal Cigarettes. The image is part of a Military Series that creates meaning through visual codes, cultural references, and historical associations. In mid-nineteenth-century Austria, the Gendarmerie were responsible for maintaining public order, especially in rural areas. The figure's uniform, complete with elaborate headdress and sword, signifies power and authority, reflecting the conservative social structures of the time. The distribution of these cards was, in itself, an exercise of power by the Kinney Brothers, a commercial enterprise whose wealth depended upon a global system of production and distribution. To understand the image more fully, we might research the history of Austrian law enforcement, the fashion of military uniforms, and the development of the modern advertising industry. Considering these social and institutional contexts allows us to better interpret the imagery and its wider cultural significance.