Robert E. Pattison of Pennsylvania, from the Presidential Possibilities series (N124) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Honest Long Cut Tobacco 1888

Editor: This is a fascinating piece! It's called "Robert E. Pattison of Pennsylvania," made in 1888 by W. Duke, Sons & Co. to promote tobacco. I’m really struck by its graphic quality and directness. What’s your take on it? Curator: Well, it’s less a study in aesthetics, and more a glance into a specific historical and cultural moment, wouldn’t you agree? Editor: In what way? Curator: Consider the "Presidential Possibilities" title – that tells us this card served as a kind of political promo piece, a marketing gimic, which also shows that politics was often about image. The man’s profile is so stoic! What else do you observe about this budding statesman? Editor: Hmmm, that his slightly airbrushed skin-tone is rather artificial looking? Curator: Yes, a deliberate touch! Makes one wonder about the relationship between truth and representation even then, doesn't it? It's so interesting how something so functional also reveals deeper societal trends. Would you say you gained insight? Editor: I certainly did! Curator: Me too, about the ways commercial art embeds historical meaning and shapes public perception, thanks to your fresh, astute take on this historical snapshot!