Private, 1st Light Infantry, Providence, Rhode Island, from the Military Series (N224) issued by Kinney Tobacco Company to promote Sweet Caporal Cigarettes 1888

This small chromolithograph was created by the Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company around 1888, as a promotional item for Sweet Caporal Cigarettes. Chromolithography was a cutting-edge printing process at the time, allowing for mass production of colorful images. Here, the flat, bright colors and crisp lines give the image a clean, idealized look. The process involves creating a separate printing stone for each color, a labor-intensive process that nonetheless allowed for affordable, eye-catching images. The card stock itself is thin and mass-produced. This underscores the card’s primary purpose: to move product. These cards reflect a society rapidly changing due to industrialization, where even military identity could be packaged and sold as part of a larger consumer culture. Appreciating the material reality of this image allows us to reflect on the relationship between labor, consumption, and national identity. It also blurs the lines between art, advertising, and the everyday objects that shape our perceptions.