From the series "Sports Girls" (C190), issued by the American Cigarette Company, Ltd., Montreal, to promote Gloria Cigarettes 1885 - 1895

This lithograph was made in Montreal by the American Cigarette Company, as part of a series to promote Gloria Cigarettes. Here, a woman is dressed in a masculine riding outfit, complete with cap, boots, and long coat. The clothing is not only suggestive of a particular leisure activity, but also perhaps of an appropriation of masculine privilege. These images were collected and traded, and they provide us with a window onto how gender roles were being negotiated within the public sphere in Canada at the turn of the century. Was this an empowering image? Or was it merely playing on the novelty of the ‘new woman’ to sell tobacco? The Library and Archives of Canada, as well as company records, may help us to understand the context in which this image was produced and consumed. What seems like a simple advertisement becomes a fascinating document when viewed through the lens of social history.