Eight of Diamonds, With Care, from Harlequin Cards, 2nd Series (N220) issued by Kinney Bros. 1889

Editor: Here we have *Eight of Diamonds, With Care*, a print from the Harlequin Cards series by Kinney Brothers, dating back to 1889. It depicts a humorous scene of delivery men dropping packages. There’s something chaotic and cartoonish about the composition; what immediately strikes you when you look at it? Curator: Well, my immediate focus goes to the material conditions of its production and circulation. Kinney Brothers was, first and foremost, a tobacco company. These cards were essentially promotional material, intended to be collected and traded. It's less about ‘art’ in the traditional sense, and more about a means of driving sales within the burgeoning consumer culture of the late 19th century. It challenges our very definition of what “art” even *is*, doesn't it? The means of making, the materials…that’s where we get the essence of its meaning. How do you perceive its link with a consumer product such as tobacco, at the time? Editor: That’s interesting. I hadn't considered that these were essentially advertisements! So, the value wasn't necessarily in the image itself, but in its function as a collectible that promoted Kinney Brothers. Were there other companies that also utilized similar methods to reach the consumers? Curator: Absolutely. This kind of trade card was very common. It highlights how companies directly engaged in the production of cultural images as marketing tools, thus intertwining artistic creation with labor and the distribution of goods. Now, if we analyze the *content* a bit…the chaotic imagery—how might that have appealed to a consumer audience? What narrative about production and consumerism might be encoded in it? Editor: I guess, given the text ‘With Care’, there’s an ironic twist that underscores the pitfalls of industrial expansion, contrasting promises of careful handling with visible disarray, or perhaps gently lampooning those promises of an efficient mail service with a pinch of playful irony. Curator: Exactly. The piece is about commodity circulation. How are goods being moved and delivered and consumed? If we see this not as an art object, but rather as documentation of that, does that give it a stronger reading for you? Editor: Definitely. Looking at it that way, it tells a story about the industrial processes of the late 1800s and makes it more compelling! Curator: I am glad that we both learned something about it today.