Cormorant, from the Game Birds series (N40) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes 1888 - 1890

Curator: Well, this is an interesting one. It's a small print, part of a series called "Game Birds" made for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes sometime between 1888 and 1890. Editor: Oh, wow. At first glance, it has this quirky, postcard vibe with a hint of vintage surrealism. Is that a cormorant the size of a small building looming over that tiny street scene? Curator: Exactly! It's a bit of a visual puzzle, isn’t it? Upper register, we have this magnificently colored cormorant perched against what looks like a stylized seascape, while below there's this genre scene, complete with tiny human figures. It feels very ukiyo-e. Editor: The bird itself is wonderfully rendered. I'm drawn to its coloring. It almost doesn’t feel like a typical bird, but something conjured from a dream, its red beak vivid against the sunset, while, simultaneously, down below, you have this ordinary hunting scene with a couple of chaps and their prize. I wonder what statement this juxtaposition makes. Is there a clash of industrialization versus nature? I can only speculate. Curator: Interesting point! I like how you pick up the dichotomy of scale between nature and civilization. Cigarette cards like these were essentially miniature artworks meant to be collected and traded; there’s a certain artistry there, appealing to people's sense of wonder through this scaled-down drama of contrasting images. Editor: So it’s selling pleasure through these vignettes, which could be anything but cigarettes are presented as something sublime and culturally meaningful, worth preserving and collecting, perhaps even akin to the experience of nature itself? That's certainly a point to be made about consumerism and class. Curator: Yes, that's what makes these so fascinating—they speak volumes about commerce and art coming together, blurring the lines, literally! It feels a little bit satirical. Editor: Well, I can’t help but think it's a comment on humanity’s attempt to control and dominate both nature and daily life…or at least sell the illusion that they do. What started as a visual experience now sparks questions of identity, power, and perception! Curator: Beautifully said. Now I look at the cormorant and it's not only looking into a distance, but questioning us, too!