Hungarian Landwehr, Austria, 1886, from the Military Series (N224) issued by Kinney Tobacco Company to promote Sweet Caporal Cigarettes 1888

This trade card depicting a Hungarian Landwehr soldier was produced in 1886 by the Kinney Tobacco Company, using color lithography. Not exactly high art, is it? Yet, it testifies to complex relationships between manufacture, marketing, and national identity. Consider the lithographic process itself, which allowed for mass production of these images. As a result, we have a collectible insert, printed to be included in Sweet Caporal Cigarettes, a way to build brand loyalty. The depicted soldier is rendered in great detail, with eye-catching color and pattern. His uniform is idealized, designed to evoke a sense of pride in the Austro-Hungarian military. In these small cards, we see the industrialization of image-making being put in the service of national identity. The card could be seen as a tool of soft power, designed to generate popular support for military expenditure, or even expansion. It really makes you wonder about the politics of tobacco!