Red Snapper, from Fish from American Waters series (N39) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes 1889

Curator: This quirky little card, "Red Snapper," dates back to 1889. Allen & Ginter produced it as part of their "Fish from American Waters" series, designed for cigarette packs! Can you believe that? It’s colored pencil and print... like a flash card for fish! Editor: It’s funny to see this, considering that every inch is adorned by decorative flies, shells and marine invertebrates. It seems very deliberately positioned and arranged with the central snapper highlighted, though… it sort of radiates both whimsy and curiosity at the same time! What do you think it does well in this arrangement? Curator: What it does well is take something mundane – a cigarette card – and elevates it into this pocket-sized piece of art. A humble celebration of the American red snapper. Its scale is so deceptive, isn't it? We assume 'small, insignificant,' but that opens us to a very intimate experience, really noticing the details, appreciating that subtle, speckled color. Did it catch your eye? What do you reckon it wants to achieve with all its extra elements? Editor: Yes, very much. The extra decorative aspects seem like both habitat and potential dinner, and really, I think this arrangement shows how the manufacturers tried to deliver luxury and quality. Curator: Luxury through…snapper ephemera. Who would've thought? It tickles me how we assign value, doesn't it? Cigarettes as the commodity, art as the lure...life imitating art imitating fish. Perhaps we should all be so artfully packaged. Editor: It certainly shows how times change…It makes me want to collect them all, or… at the very least, take up fishing.