Boar, from Quadrupeds series (N41) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes 1890

Editor: This quirky piece, "Boar, from Quadrupeds series (N41) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes," dating back to 1890, gives me a feeling of stepping into a storybook! Rendered with coloured pencils, it depicts the animal alongside what looks like hunters in the wintry woods above. It is quite busy in the format of a little promotional card. How would you unpack the layers of this artwork? Curator: It's more than just a charming image, isn't it? Cards like these were popular then—almost like trading cards! A wild boar in full flight. Can't you almost hear its frantic grunts, the snap of twigs under its hooves? Editor: Definitely! What strikes me is the juxtaposition—the raw energy of the boar against what looks like hunting parties in carriages casually making their way across the snowy field above. What do you think the artist wanted to convey with the two scenes in one image? Curator: Well, on one hand, they may be reflecting a late 19th-century fascination with the natural world—a world shrinking as industry expanded. Then there is hunting, part of leisure culture. The artist might want us to see both predator and prey within society. How easily our little dramas, like a card from a cigarette box, sit within a bigger play. Editor: So, it’s a snapshot of a society on the cusp of change. Are we romanticizing nature even as we exploit it? Thank you. This image made me question how humans influence all other living creatures. Curator: My pleasure. It’s lovely when art turns us toward self-reflection, don’t you think? A cigarette card holding such complexity is food for thought indeed!