A Short History: General John B. Magruder, from the Histories of Generals series (N114) issued by W. Duke, Sons & Co. to promote Honest Long Cut Smoking and Chewing Tobacco 1888

Editor: This is "A Short History: General John B. Magruder" from 1888, created by W. Duke, Sons & Co. It's a print that looks like a portrait combined with scenes from history, all to promote, interestingly enough, tobacco. I'm struck by how this little advertisement tries to package heroism and history. What do you make of it? Curator: It's wild, isn’t it? A general, oak leaves, and honest tobacco, all mingling! This card condenses 19th-century America’s obsessions into a bite-sized visual. There is this impulse to cast history in service of... well, chewing tobacco. But beyond the blatant commercialism, consider the *stories* it hints at: valor, nationhood, industry... Were these narratives truthful? I find myself reflecting on these fragmented histories… Doesn't that Confederate flag prompt more questions than answers? Editor: Absolutely. It feels like it glosses over something very complex. How does it fit into the history-painting genre? Curator: In a strange way, this is history-painting distilled and mass-produced. The card is aiming for iconic resonance, using familiar visual shorthand – a portrait, a flag, a battlefield – to instantly communicate ‘history.’ Except it's less about education and more about... selling the good ol' days? What I am curious about, did the buyer know or care about J. B. Magruder, or did they simply crave belonging to a glorious fiction? Editor: I never considered it that way before - belonging! I now realize I see the art world as existing within many different types of frameworks that often intersect, and advertising may be an interesting place to further that idea. Thank you! Curator: The pleasure was all mine, my friend! Now, go forth and question every heroic image that crosses your path...especially if it's selling you something!