Knight, France, 11th Century, from the Military Series (N224) issued by Kinney Tobacco Company to promote Sweet Caporal Cigarettes 1888

Editor: Here we have "Knight, France, 11th Century" made in 1888 by the Kinney Tobacco Company. It's a print, and quite small. There’s something almost folk-art-ish about the figure… What am I supposed to take away from this depiction? Curator: Well, let's not divorce this image from its origins. The Kinney Tobacco Company produced it as a cigarette card, right? So, it's functioning as propaganda, both about nationhood and masculinity. How does this image tap into and perhaps distort notions of medieval chivalry? Editor: I see what you mean. He looks...imposing, with all the chainmail, but then the whole image has this flatness to it, like a child’s drawing. And those colours are kind of garish, almost cartoonish. The knight doesn't look very threatening to me! Curator: Exactly! It’s idealizing and romanticizing. We have this visual of the knight in shining armour, standing as the idealized representation of military power and national identity of France in the 11th Century. The fox figures on his shield, the colours... These are tools to create a collective identity, to make the idea of "France" desirable, something to rally around. How might ideas around tobacco consumption have influenced these design decisions? Editor: So it’s less about historical accuracy and more about selling a certain idea? Patriotism, strength, even masculinity are being packaged and sold like cigarettes. Curator: Precisely. It’s using the past to shape present desires, which often relies on very selective, even fantastical representations. So how can we read these types of images, and their presentation of national identity and historical figures, critically? Editor: It shows how history itself can be commodified and used to promote a product… quite different from the high-art history paintings I am familiar with. Thanks for that deeper reading! Curator: Absolutely! Thinking about these images through that lens really changes the conversation, doesn't it?