Right Hand Swing and Stop, Bob Fitzsimmons and Jack Dempsey, from the Boxing Positions and Boxers series (N266) issued by P. Lorillard Company to promote Red Cross Long Cut Tobacco 1893

This is a lithograph trade card, part of a series issued by P. Lorillard Company around 1896 to promote Red Cross Long Cut Tobacco. Such cards document the rise of consumer culture in the United States, where advertising became an integral part of commercial activity. Here, the world of boxing intersects with brand marketing. The card depicts boxers Bob Fitzsimmons and Jack Dempsey in action, but the image also functions as an advertisement. It creates meaning through the visual coding of athleticism and physical prowess with the product being advertised. What’s interesting here is the institutional history of art. While the art world sought to distinguish itself from mere commercialism, such advertising ephemera complicates those distinctions. Understanding this art requires us to delve into the archives of advertising history, the social history of sport, and the economic conditions that enabled mass marketing. This approach helps us to interpret art as a product of its specific social and institutional context.