Malay, from the Races of Mankind series (T181) issued by Abdul Cigarettes 1881

This is a chromolithograph cigarette card, made by Abdul Cigarettes around the turn of the twentieth century, which features a portrait of a ‘Malay’. The image is from the Races of Mankind series, which reflects both colonial attitudes to racial classification, and the global reach of the tobacco industry at the time. The card uses visual shorthand to signify the sitter’s racial identity: the use of dress, the shape of the sitter’s eyes and nose, and skin color work together to communicate ‘Malay’ identity to a western audience. We should see these portraits as attempts by the west to classify the world through racial types, a visual project that served the purposes of colonial administration and commerce. To truly understand these images, historians turn to sources such as colonial archives, ethnographic studies, and trade publications to help reveal the complex social dynamics, economic interests, and institutional forces involved. The meaning of such images is always contingent on these contexts.