Indochina, from the Dancing Girls of the World series (N185) issued by Wm. S. Kimball & Co. 1889

This lithograph, “Indochina,” from the “Dancing Girls of the World” series, was produced by the Wm. S. Kimball & Co. The image's material presence as a small, mass-produced card speaks volumes. Lithography allowed for the cheap replication of images, connecting it directly to the rise of consumer culture. The card was originally included in packages of cigarettes, incentivizing collecting. The image itself exoticizes a generalized “Indochina” through the depiction of a dancer, flattening cultural specificity into a single, consumable image. Consider the labor involved: from the artists designing the image, to the factory workers operating the printing presses, to the field workers harvesting the tobacco. It is a potent reminder of how art, even in seemingly trivial forms, is embedded in vast networks of production and consumption. Understanding the card's materiality and context urges us to question the relationship between art, industry, and the representation of culture.