Saber, from the Arms of All Nations series (N3) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes Brands 1887

This colorful image of a saber-wielding cavalryman comes from a cigarette card produced by Allen & Ginter in Richmond, Virginia, sometime in the late nineteenth century. These cards were originally designed as stiffeners for the packaging, but their popularity soon transformed them into collectable items. This card is part of the “Arms of All Nations” series, which tells us a lot about the social and institutional context in which it was made. Manufacturers of consumer products were eager to attach their brands to images of national pride and global reach. Note how the uniforms, weapons, and flags evoke military power and patriotic feeling. To truly understand these artifacts, we need to look at the history of advertising and the rise of mass media. We need to study the economic structures of consumer capitalism. And we need to think about how the circulation of images shapes our understanding of national identity.