Persian, from Types of Nationalities (N240) issued by Kinney Bros. 1890

This small advertisement card titled "Persian" was printed by Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company sometime in the late 19th century. It's one of a series called "Types of Nationalities," and it uses an image of a Persian leader to promote their brand of cigarettes, "Sweet Caporal." Now, the image itself is interesting because it reflects the way that Americans at the time saw Persians: exotic and powerful, but also subject to the whims of a singular ruler. The little poem even says that the Shah decrees that everyone must smoke "Sweet Caporal!" This card isn't just about selling cigarettes; it's about selling an idea of global power relations, and the way that American companies might imagine themselves in relation to other nations. To really understand this image, we'd need to dig into the history of American advertising and study the cultural context of the late 19th century. What other images of "nationalities" were being circulated? What were the political dynamics between the U.S. and Persia at the time? These are the kinds of questions that help us understand how art is always embedded in social and institutional contexts.