Hugh McCormack, Skater, from World's Champions, Second Series (N43) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes 1888

This late nineteenth-century chromolithograph by Allen & Ginter Cigarettes depicts Hugh McCormack, a champion skater. Made as a promotional insert, it’s printed on thin paper, a mass-produced object meant to be collected and traded. Notice the crisp lines and vibrant colors, achieved through layering multiple lithographic stones, each carrying a different color. This process, while now automated, demanded skilled labor to create the separate stones and align them precisely. Consider how this image, designed for mass consumption, elevates an athlete to celebrity status, all while advertising cigarettes. The division between art, commerce, and sport blurs here, reflecting the rise of consumer culture and the commodification of leisure in the late 1800s. It's a reminder that even seemingly simple images are deeply embedded in social and economic forces, and that “craft” can take many forms.