Sir Rowland Hill, printer's sample for the World's Inventors souvenir album (A25) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes 1888

Editor: So here we have a portrait of Sir Rowland Hill. It's a lithograph from 1888, included in Allen & Ginter's "World's Inventors" series. I find the image kind of charming, like something you'd find tucked inside a Victorian scrapbook. What leaps out at you when you look at it? Curator: It's more than just charming! Imagine the artistry needed to miniaturize a life! This print, born of the Japonisme craze, captures Hill, the postal pioneer, in an almost meditative pose. See how the lithographic technique softens his features, giving him a gentle, almost otherworldly presence. And the choice to portray him amidst this delicate style-- isn't it like finding profound innovation blooming in an unexpected corner? It's a visual poem, isn't it? Editor: A poem? That's a new way to think about it. I was so focused on the commercial aspect, you know, the cigarette card connection, that I missed the artistry. Does his expression tell us something too? Curator: Absolutely! His eyes, though small in the print, seem to hold a quiet determination. It’s the gaze of someone who's stared down convention and imagined something radically new. What kind of feeling do you get? Editor: Hmmm... maybe resilience? And maybe a hint of mischief? I am going to go look up this style! I have a lot to learn. Thank you! Curator: My pleasure! Art is just looking differently, I think, just for a moment longer than before!