St. Etienne, from the City Flags series (N6) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes Brands 1887

This is a printed card, made in the late nineteenth century by Allen and Ginter, for inclusion in packs of cigarettes. What is most interesting about it is the collision of commerce and culture. Flags, like the one depicted here for the French city of St. Etienne, are potent symbols. And of course, the architecture shown beneath the flag is meant to further amplify the city's symbolic power. But these cultural references have been miniaturized and put to work to sell something else entirely: cigarettes. Printed using industrial techniques, cards like these were essentially collectible advertisements. In this context, we can see how manufacturing, and the expansion of a consumer base, were starting to become a dominant force in shaping everyday life. It is a reminder that even the most apparently innocent images can be embedded in a much wider web of production, labor, and consumption.