Keokuk, Sac & Fox, from the American Indian Chiefs series (N36) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes 1888

This card depicting Keokuk, a leader of the Sac and Fox tribes, was mass-produced as part of a series for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes. The chromolithographic process used to create the image involved making a series of printing plates, one for each color, and then layering them on top of one another to create a complete image. This made it possible to create colorful images on a large scale, but it also tended to flatten the image. Note how the two-dimensionality reinforces the composition’s static, diagrammatic quality. Of course, the subject of the portrait has been flattened too, transformed into a sign. The flattening of labor in the production process mirrors the reduction of a human being into a commodity. It prompts us to consider the wider social context of labor, trade, and cultural representation in which this card was made, challenging us to reflect on the power dynamics at play.