Devastation, French Navy, from the Naval Vessels of the World series (N226) issued by Kinney Bros. 1889

Curator: Here we have "Devastation, French Navy," from the Naval Vessels of the World series. It was created around 1889 by Kinney Bros., most likely as a promotional card. Editor: Whoa, even in miniature, this ship is imposing! It has this…industrial melancholia vibe. The smokestacks almost seem like it’s exhaling a heavy sigh. Curator: Yes, and the title itself, “Devastation," is striking, especially in light of how nation-states used industrial capacity to construct battleships, expanding their colonial reach during this period. We should see this piece as speaking to the power dynamics inherent in industrialization and the projection of force globally. Editor: Absolutely, it's dripping with imperial energy! And that color palette – somber greys punctuated by those stark, bold reds – gives it this strange, ominous tension. Is it just me, or do those rigid lines also suggest social rigidity? Curator: The materials themselves – the piece includes drawing, print, pencil, and watercolor – highlight how accessible such propagandistic imagery would have been, woven into the everyday lives of consumers through products like cigarettes. The casualness normalizes what is essentially an advertisement for war. Editor: It makes you wonder, right? Did folks buying these things even pause to consider the devastation such vessels could unleash? Or was it all just shiny military bravado? Curator: It raises interesting questions about visual culture and the manufacturing of consent for imperial projects through something as simple as a collectible card included with a tobacco product. Editor: Well, it has definitely blown my mind that such a small image can unpack so much heaviness. Thanks for navigating these churning waters with me! Curator: The pleasure was mine; it seems like this small material object encapsulates global political and cultural narratives worth continuously re-examining.