See Adler, Germany, from the Famous Ships series (N50) for Virginia Brights Cigarettes 1895

Editor: Here we have a small print titled "See Adler, Germany," part of the "Famous Ships" series from 1895, published for Virginia Brights Cigarettes. It's striking how this image of a warship became promotional material. What’s your interpretation? Curator: The piece offers insight into late 19th-century popular culture and its relationship with militarism. The image comes from a set of collectible cards distributed with cigarette packs, reflecting the rise of naval power in imperial Germany and the public's fascination with it. The availability of such imagery is intriguing in regards to the rise of propaganda. What do you think this says about public sentiment at the time? Editor: I guess it implies a general acceptance, maybe even admiration, for naval strength. People wouldn't collect something they disagreed with, right? Curator: Not necessarily, consider that the act of collecting and displaying such cards normalized and popularized military strength. The visual rhetoric flattens global competition, overseas military intervention, and colonialization. It's important to consider who *didn't* have access to create or participate in this culture of visual imagery. The working class or other marginalized groups may have had a different relationship to the artwork and naval powers. Editor: That's a good point. So it’s less about whether people explicitly agreed with the politics and more about how this imagery shaped their worldview? Curator: Precisely. The packaging of nationalism within everyday goods played a subtle yet pervasive role in fostering public sentiment and even justifying colonial projects. The commodification of national pride through items like these cards becomes both reflective and constitutive of broader cultural trends. It also reminds us to be aware of similar forms of advertisement happening today. Editor: This has made me think a lot more about the connection between advertising and politics than I did before! Curator: Exactly! Hopefully, it highlights that even seemingly benign cultural objects can play a powerful role in the construction of national identity.