Club Swinging, from the Games and Sports series (N165) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1889

This chromolithograph, "Club Swinging" from the Games and Sports series, was printed by Goodwin & Company as a cigarette card. The composition of the image features two distinct spaces: one showing figures in a landscape, the other a portrait within an oval frame. The landscape's soft hues create a pastoral feel. The portrait is framed by a decorative oval. There is a flatness in pictorial space, enhanced by bright but limited colors. This card uses contrasting representational styles to position a gendered view of leisure and sport. While the woman actively participates in club swinging, the portrait presents an idealized image of beauty and poise. This duality may reflect and reinforce societal expectations of women’s roles. The image challenges fixed views about women and sports. It allows us to rethink traditional boundaries and see how they have evolved. Note the contrasting textures and framing devices used here which function beyond the aesthetic to engage with cultural and philosophical ideas about representation.