Before Election, "This'll make her blaze," from the Terrors of America set (N136) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Honest Long Cut Tobacco 1888 - 1889

This vibrant tobacco card, crafted by W. Duke Sons & Co., displays a boy carrying a barrel, with the caption "This'll make her blaze." The most striking symbol here is fire, the blaze hinted at in the caption. Fire is an ancient symbol, seen in hearths and mythologies across cultures. It represents purification, destruction, and, paradoxically, warmth and life. Consider the eternal flame of Vesta in Roman temples, a symbol of the state's endurance, or even the destructive fires of Ragnarok, signaling the end of one world and the birth of another. Our collective psyche associates fire with transformation, a concept deeply embedded in rituals and folklore. Perhaps here, it hints at the transformative—or destructive—potential of political fervor. How fascinating that such primal imagery is used to sell tobacco, igniting a sense of excitement tied to political passions. It demonstrates the cyclical nature of symbols, constantly resurfacing and evolving to capture the imagination.