Wood Thrush, from the Birds of America series (N37) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes 1888

This small lithograph of a Wood Thrush was produced as a promotional card, included in packs of Allen & Ginter cigarettes. Lithography is a printmaking process that relies on the mutual repulsion of grease and water. Here, that process is used to create a brightly colored image. The card juxtaposes two distinct visual fields: on one side a naturalistic rendering of the bird in its habitat, on the other a caged bird. This acts as a rather disturbing advertisement for ‘Birds of America’ cigarettes. The card is a product of its time, when images like this were made possible by sophisticated industrial manufacturing and marketing. The real value of this object is the labor which it represents. The lithographer, the printing press operator, the tobacco farmer, the factory worker rolling cigarettes, the advertising executive, the shopkeeper – all brought their efforts to bear on the production and dissemination of this image. So, the next time you light up, consider the chain of making that brings the product to you.