Belgium, from Flags of All Nations, Series 1 (N9) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes Brands 1887

This is Belgium, from Flags of All Nations, Series 1, a lithograph card made by Allen & Ginter Cigarettes. These cards were inserted into cigarette packs, a marketing strategy that reflected the burgeoning commercial culture of the late 19th century. This image, like others in the series, depicts the flag of Belgium, a symbol of national identity. We can read this image as a signifier of the complex interplay between commerce, nationalism, and identity. The flag, in its representation of a nation, becomes a commodity circulated by a company whose wealth was built, in part, on the labor of enslaved people. Consider that this card was made in Richmond, Virginia, a city deeply intertwined with the history of slavery and the Confederacy. The packaging of this image with cigarettes invites us to reflect on the ways in which national symbols can be co-opted and commodified, sometimes obscuring the complicated histories they represent.