Edwin Cowles, The Cleveland Leader, from the American Editors series (N35) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes 1887

Editor: This lithograph print from 1887, featuring Edwin Cowles of The Cleveland Leader, is one of a series of "American Editors" produced for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes. I'm struck by how the composition is split – half portrait, half what seems to be a streetscape. What's your take on a piece like this? Curator: Well, seeing this as a cultural artifact rather than just an artwork reveals a lot about late 19th-century America. These cigarette cards functioned as promotional material, circulating images of success and status. Who was being celebrated, and by whom? The pairing of Cowles with what appears to be an idyllic cityscape projects a specific image, doesn't it? One of progress and leadership, intrinsically tied to place. Editor: That makes a lot of sense. The positioning does seem very intentional, now that you point it out. It also feels… almost propagandistic in retrospect? Curator: Precisely. The 'who' and the 'why' of production become key. Allen & Ginter, a tobacco company, profited from an expanding industry, and were selling an aspirational lifestyle alongside their cigarettes. By associating their product with prominent figures like Cowles, they subtly aligned themselves with power and influence. Who do you think would be buying these cigarettes and collecting these cards? Editor: Probably those who aspired to that same status. It becomes less about the individual artwork and more about its role in constructing a broader social narrative. Curator: Exactly. These cards reinforced social hierarchies and notions of American success. Examining this lithograph opens a window into the values and aspirations that were actively being promoted during the Gilded Age, even if the “facts” were quite selective and edited. Editor: I hadn’t considered the cigarette card as a form of early media shaping perceptions. This really broadens my understanding of the work! Curator: Indeed, seeing art embedded within its historical context gives it such deeper meaning.