Midshipman's Dirk, from the Arms of All Nations series (N3) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes Brands 1887

Editor: This is "Midshipman's Dirk," a print from 1887 by Allen & Ginter, part of their "Arms of All Nations" series. It reminds me of baseball cards but with a very serious young man holding a tiny sword. What do you make of this image, presented as a commercial collectible? Curator: Ah, yes! I see a dash of playful Americana meeting the swagger of a miniature military man! It's a curious cocktail, isn't it? On one level, it's pure marketing, appealing to a sense of worldly knowledge and maybe a bit of nationalistic pride amongst cigarette smokers. But there's also something endearingly absurd about presenting weaponry as a collectable item alongside tobacco. I can almost imagine folks trading these cards, discussing the finer points of tiny sabers like they would batting averages. What kind of story do you think this image hints at, beyond just selling cigarettes? Editor: I suppose it's about selling aspiration, then? To own, maybe even embody, that level of authority implied by the uniform and the dirk? Though it all seems a bit…staged. Curator: Staged indeed! It’s theatre in a tiny frame. And in a way, isn't all collecting a kind of performance? We curate our own identities through the objects we surround ourselves with. These cards were perhaps little prompts, inviting people to imagine themselves into a more dashing, worldly narrative. A narrative they could share by collecting all the cards! What do you think its Ukiyo-e influences lend? Editor: That perspective enriches it – literally owning the projection of an identity by collecting something. That the work flirts with Ukiyo-e seems at odds with its subject matter, but grounds its artificiality in fine art too. I never expected to be waxing lyrical about a cigarette card, of all things! Curator: Well, the magic of art hides in the unexpected! Every object, no matter how humble, has a tale to spin, and together, we’ve given this tiny midshipman another moment to set sail.