Switzerland, from the Natives in Costume series (N16) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes Brands 1886

Editor: Here we have a print titled "Switzerland, from the Natives in Costume series," created around 1886 by Allen & Ginter, a cigarette brand. It’s currently at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It depicts a man with a rifle in what I presume is traditional Swiss clothing. It strikes me as somewhat romanticized, like a stage play about the Swiss Alps. What do you make of it? Curator: Romanticized is a great word. It makes me think about the impulse to capture the exotic, which was all the rage then, wouldn't you agree? See how his stance is almost...posed? It isn’t a documentary. The artist aimed to create a collectible fantasy of Switzerland and its inhabitants, right down to the stylized mountains. And consider it was used to sell cigarettes! Editor: A cigarette card, that's right! So it is less about accurately representing Switzerland and more about branding and creating desire. Curator: Exactly. The "Natives in Costume" series was about selling an idea – a sort of aspiration. Imagine flipping through your cigarette pack, encountering this idealized image…What stories might it spark in a person’s mind, and how did the manufacturer hope those stories would translate into sales? The drawing also gives it this impressionistic soft rendering in what seems to be watercolor or maybe colored pencil, how about that choice, I think? Editor: So it’s art as advertising and romantic orientalism combined! The soft medium gives it almost a dreamy or idealized quality. Curator: Precisely! It makes me consider how commerce and art have intertwined for centuries, often blurring the lines between genuine representation and manufactured fantasy. I mean, after our talk, I am keen to re-evaluate any advertisement I come across. Editor: Yes! It definitely reframes how I think about historical images. Thank you.