Major of Engineers, Italy, from the Military Series (N224) issued by Kinney Tobacco Company to promote Sweet Caporal Cigarettes 1888

This color lithograph of an Italian Major of Engineers was issued by Kinney Tobacco Company as an advertisement for Sweet Caporal Cigarettes. The image presents a figure of authority and power at a time when Italy was building a modern national identity. The uniform—the cut of the jacket, the gold epaulets, the red trim—speaks to established codes of military dress that would have been familiar to consumers in the late nineteenth century. Italy's unification in 1871 was a relatively recent event when this card was produced, and the Italian military played an important role in defining the country's identity on the global stage. The card series was a commercial endeavor but this type of imagery would also have been familiar to anyone who read newspapers or popular fiction. To fully understand the historical context of this image, we need to consider the rise of mass media and the increasing importance of visual culture in shaping public opinion.