Checker Berry card from the Plant with Root series 1862 - 1869

Editor: Here we have "Checker Berry card from the Plant with Root series" by Louis Prang & Co., made sometime between 1862 and 1869. It seems to be a drawing or print on paper, quite small and delicate. I find it interesting that the plant is depicted with the roots still attached. How do you interpret this piece? Curator: What strikes me is the labor involved in producing these cards. Lithography, especially color lithography of this detail, required skilled artisans and industrial production. These weren't unique artworks, but rather a manufactured commodity, hinting at the rise of consumer culture during that time. Editor: So, it's not just about the pretty plant, but about the process of making the card itself? Curator: Exactly! And consider the material itself: paper. The shift from handmade paper to mass-produced paper influenced art production. Furthermore, the depiction of the "plant with root" emphasizes not just the final, consumable form, but the labor beneath the surface. Think about the extraction of raw materials and the labor necessary to transform them into these cards. It invites us to consider what's being made, how, and by whom. Editor: That's fascinating! I hadn't considered the production process itself as part of the artwork's meaning. Curator: These cards existed in a complex economic ecosystem that affected every element of its construction. It helps move away from simply appreciating the plant’s aesthetics. What were the economics of collecting these? Was that shaped by mass-printing technology? Editor: Thinking about the materials and labour involved definitely gives me a new perspective. I guess I learned not to just see the finished product, but to ask about the production and context that brought it into being. Curator: Precisely! Recognizing those structures lets us analyze the complex dynamics between artistic creation and its material and economic reality.