Cape May, New Jersey, from the Surf Beauties series (N232), issued by Kinney Bros. 1889

This small card, one of a series called "Surf Beauties," was printed by the Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company. It would have been included in packs of cigarettes, a premium encouraging repeat purchase. The image is a chromolithograph, a printing process that allowed for mass production of colorful images. This involved creating a separate stone or metal plate for each color, then layering them on top of each other to create a complete image. The resulting image has a slightly textured, almost painterly quality. The pin-up aesthetic is meant to sell an idea of leisure and beauty alongside the tobacco product. Note the sitter's bathing costume, which is quite elaborate. This card speaks volumes about the rise of consumer culture, where even a simple everyday object like a cigarette pack became a vehicle for advertising and desire. It blurs the line between art and commerce, reminding us that even the most seemingly innocent images are often embedded in larger systems of production and consumption.