Giraffe, from the Quadrupeds series (N21) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes 1890

Curator: What a striking piece. We’re looking at "Giraffe" from the Quadrupeds series, created in 1890 by Allen & Ginter for their cigarette cards. It employs colored pencils and print techniques. Editor: It feels so innocent. There’s something almost naive about the rendering of the giraffe and its surroundings. It's very quaint and old-fashioned in a comforting sort of way. Curator: The symbolism here is quite interesting when we think about the context. Consider the giraffe itself – it's an animal of considerable grace, elegance and a symbol of far-reaching vision, elevated perspective, awareness, individuality and intuition. In African cultures, the giraffe also possesses shamanic power as a harbinger. Now imagine receiving this miniature symbol of wisdom along with a cigarette, back in 1890. Editor: Yes, a miniature window to the natural world tucked in with something as quotidian, and eventually dangerous, as a cigarette. I see it as a blatant advertisement, obviously. A tool of late-19th-century consumer culture designed to sell tobacco while simultaneously conjuring images of exotic lands and animal nobility, to normalize a highly addictive habit. Curator: It’s definitely both. But isn't it also revealing of a shift in perception? People were becoming increasingly disconnected from nature with growing urbanization, and images like these could evoke a sense of wonder, a connection to something primal, through these easily disseminated symbols, and therefore cultural memory. Editor: Perhaps, but I still believe it functions as a very calculated element of branding and imperialism. "Buy our product, expand your horizons." And whose horizons were really being expanded by exploiting both land and wildlife in colonized territories? Where did Allen & Ginter harvest tobacco and print these cards? It speaks to the inequalities deeply embedded within the seemingly innocent aesthetic. Curator: These contradictions exist simultaneously, that’s for sure. The print, though small, reminds me of larger tapestries depicting hunts, yet this has an almost fable-like sweetness. Editor: I’ll grant you that, and seeing this artwork displayed now invites reflection on consumerism, exploitation, our relationship with the environment. A bittersweet reminder of our history and our continuing struggle for ethical consumption and equitable representation. Curator: For me, the staying power of the Giraffe is that even reduced to a commodity, a small printed symbol, its wild dignity is evident, sparking the possibility of something beyond the card itself.