Raccoon, from Quadrupeds series (N41) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes 1890

This is an Allen & Ginter cigarette card from the Quadrupeds series, showcasing a raccoon rendered with careful detail through lithography. The card’s structure is neatly divided into horizontal registers. At the top, a serene waterscape and at the bottom, small fowl punctuate the composition. The central panel is dominated by the raccoon. It is strikingly portrayed against a backdrop of foliage. The animal's gaze, direct and engaging, draws the viewer into an immediate encounter. The fur is rendered with a chromatic scale ranging from brown to light gray which adds texture. The layout of the card, segmented and framed, speaks to the 19th-century urge to classify and contain the natural world. This impulse reflects structuralist tendencies, where meaning is derived from structured relationships and systems of classification. The juxtaposition of the raccoon with domestic fowl creates an unexpected dialogue between wilderness and domestication, nature and culture, challenging the viewer to consider the boundaries between these categories.