Piping Crow-shrike, from the Song Birds of the World series (N42) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes 1890

Curator: This quirky print, "Piping Crow-shrike," made around 1890 by Allen & Ginter for cigarette cards, is more captivating than it has any right to be. Editor: It’s rather charming, isn’t it? The colours are so soft, and the bird is perched so delicately. I’m struck by the unusual composition and combination of what seems like an Impressionistic style with that bird rendered almost photographically. What do you see in it? Curator: Well, that juxtaposition is precisely where its appeal lies for me. There’s a whisper of Japonisme in the flat planes and the almost cut-and-paste aesthetic, something quite modern. It’s an advert, but look at the little absurdist stage they’ve built: the bird and then, stage right, that wonderfully unconvincing little woodland. Editor: It feels almost… surreal? Curator: Precisely! Or maybe just plain funny. Imagine being a 19th-century smoker and finding this slipped in with your cigarettes! It would almost be a little, dada surprise. Do you think the juxtaposition between advertising and a celebration of nature clashes? Editor: Initially, perhaps. But maybe it suggests how we always seek beauty, even amidst daily habits – a reminder to pause and notice the bird. Curator: A nicotine-stained haiku to a feathered friend. Beautifully put. It certainly encourages one to think of unintended encounters with art, of little pockets of respite offered in unexpected corners. And also of the bird, singing, oblivious to its place in a vast and smoky market. Editor: Yes, the quiet rebellion of nature within the industrial world. I’ll remember that. Thanks.