Song Sparrow, from the Birds of America series (N37) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes 1888

This small card, made by Allen & Ginter for their cigarettes, features a song sparrow and other birds, printed using chromolithography. It’s a process that involves using multiple stones or plates to apply different colors, creating a relatively detailed image through industrial printing. The material itself – a thin piece of cardstock – speaks to the context of mass production. Cigarette cards like these were essentially ephemera, meant to be collected or simply discarded. The intense work of naturalists who closely studied the birds stands in contrast to the disposability of the cards. This image and others like it capitalized on the interest in nature and the burgeoning field of ornithology for commercial means. By examining the material and production of this card, we can see how art and nature were integrated into everyday life through consumer culture, blurring the lines between high art, commercial design, and the habits of everyday life.