Oswald Ottendorfer, New Yorker Staats-Zeitung, from the American Editors series (N35) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes 1887

Curator: This is "Oswald Ottendorfer, New Yorker Staats-Zeitung," a lithograph print produced in 1887 by Allen & Ginter as part of their American Editors series. Editor: Right off the bat, it feels like a little time capsule. I love the divided composition; half portrait, half cityscape. There's something charmingly naive about the perspective, like looking into a dollhouse. Curator: These cards were distributed with cigarette packs, offering miniature portraits of prominent figures alongside a depiction of their workplace or significant environment. Here, we have Ottendorfer, the publisher of a major German-language newspaper, set against the backdrop of the Staats Zeitung Building in New York. Editor: So, almost like early baseball cards but for...editors? Imagine collecting those! Anyway, the portrait itself is interesting. It’s idealized, of course, with that dramatic white beard. But there's a real sense of…stern determination in his eyes. He means business! Curator: Absolutely. And the choice of subject also speaks volumes about the rising influence of German immigrants and their press in American society at the time. It reflects the complexities of assimilation and cultural identity. Who gets remembered? Whose story is valued? Editor: I'm struck by the almost hyper-realistic details in the cityscape versus the flatness of the portrait background. And the runner boy in the foreground…it suggests energy, the hustle of city life and also the immediacy and reach of the newspaper itself. Curator: Contextualizing this work within the larger history of immigration, we can begin to see how constructions of 'Americanness' were, and still are, fraught and shifting. Ottendorfer’s contribution highlights not only media influence, but also the agency of immigrant communities. Editor: I see the card as an object, now almost comical, meant for broad appeal yet filled with all sorts of underlying commentary and power structures! These cigarette cards seem so innocent on the surface, but really hint to an era's sensibilities. They definitely didn't just tell you who to admire but *how* to admire them. Curator: This little lithograph invites a crucial exploration of social hierarchies at the turn of the century. I feel as if a study of who and how we commemorate speaks to our values in general, in the past and in the present. Editor: Indeed, this unassuming card makes one wonder about how the past, present, and future will view *our* public figures in comparison. I think about that kid delivering papers right outside this room and just start giggling.