President of the United States, from World's Sovereigns series (N34) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes 1889

Curator: Allen & Ginter's lithograph, "President of the United States, from World's Sovereigns series," dating back to 1889. Editor: It’s striking how much it resembles an official portrait, yet is bound to marketing. The slightly compressed composition and the floral patterns around it lend a distinct, almost opulent feel, despite its small size. Curator: These were indeed trading cards included in cigarette packs, part of a broader trend of using collectible images to promote products and circulate cultural values. Note how genre painting fuses with commercial strategies. Editor: Absolutely. The lithographic process itself is fascinating—the layers of ink, the paper stock chosen by Allen & Ginter. The image promotes a very particular idea of American leadership. Curator: And the placement alongside the eagle motif clearly underscores the message of power, yet there’s something inherently troubling about commodifying leadership in this way. It forces us to think critically about who is included, excluded and how they are presented to the world through these popular images. The question of accessibility arises as well. Cigarettes were consumed primarily by working-class men at that time. So what message were those men taking in? Editor: Yes, think about it – this little card was probably handled and traded countless times, gradually fading and changing over the years through handling and collection, creating a material archive. The means of distribution shape consumption of it. Curator: Indeed. I see the image as reflecting deeper anxieties about the role of leadership at a time of immense social and economic change and growing commercialization of everyday life, making visible the ways social constructs form what we understand. Editor: Considering the material means really lets us see this card as a social object, not just a simple image of a president. Curator: Ultimately, looking at it in today's context encourages questions about who has the right to depict these individuals and to what extent the materials play in the social constructs. Editor: It really highlights how the convergence of industry and leadership shaped popular perception, making a statement far beyond just a face on a card.