Great Marbled Godwit, from the Game Birds series (N13) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes Brands 1889

Editor: Here we have "Great Marbled Godwit," a print from 1889 made by Allen & Ginter for their cigarette brands. I'm struck by its size—it's so small! It feels almost precious. What can you tell me about it? Curator: This image, mass-produced for cigarette cards, offers a fascinating intersection of art, commerce, and ornithology. Let's think about the production process itself. These cards weren't individually crafted artworks; they were products of industrial printing. What does the commodification of nature represented by the godwit reveal about society at the time? Editor: I hadn’t thought of it that way, but it's interesting how a beautiful bird becomes a marketing tool. Is there a relationship between the material the image is printed on, and the social context? Curator: Absolutely! These cards, often collected and traded, circulated widely. Consider the material value: cheap paper stock linked to addictive consumerism. Further, the printing methods allowed for vibrant colours, like those in Ukiyo-e prints from Japan. This use of vibrant colour surely boosted the perceived value, drawing in consumers with a sense of exoticism, as many sought out Orientalist-inspired material goods. Does the subject, a bird, change the narrative? Editor: Possibly. I guess it connects to people's relationship with nature becoming less practical, and more...decorative. This connection to "high art" but mass-produced and used to push cigarettes does speak to both the class boundaries and marketing strategies of the late 19th century. Curator: Exactly. Reflect on how these images, distributed through the act of consumption, shape perceptions of both nature and art itself. What did this analysis reveal about how you perceived the bird in the artwork? Editor: Thinking about the bird as part of a wider system of consumption really opened my eyes to the role that materials and production play in giving this little card its cultural meaning.