Bartlett Reef Light Vessel, from the Lighthouses series (N119) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Honest Long Cut Tobacco 1889

Curator: Let’s take a look at this charming print: "Bartlett Reef Light Vessel" from 1889. It's part of the Lighthouses series produced by Duke Sons & Co. as an advertisement for their Honest Long Cut Tobacco. Editor: My first impression is tranquility. The muted colours, the steady lines of the vessel; it evokes a quiet, purposeful existence, doesn't it? Though, there's a curious flatness to the pictorial space. Curator: The process behind these cards is really fascinating. Chromolithography allowed for mass production, bringing colour imagery to a broader public. We’re seeing how industrial production seeped into everyday life, even influencing art forms. The card itself becomes a material object tied to leisure and consumption. Editor: Absolutely, and let’s contextualize that consumption. Tobacco use, especially then, was a charged activity interwoven with notions of masculinity and labor. Note how the American flag dominates, signaling national pride in the industries depicted. Light vessels themselves offered safety but are built and run by maritime laborers-- their contributions usually elided. This all promotes particular ideological constructions about labour and belonging. Curator: I think the choice of subject matter—the lighthouse and the sea—speaks to a certain kind of stability that the manufacturers are trying to associate with their product. Durable, dependable. And also the expansion of industry and infrastructure across the landscape. Editor: Exactly. And what stories do these images conceal? What communities depended on the Bartlett Reef Light Vessel? How did technological progress influence maritime labour, immigration, or global trade during this era? We cannot ignore these realities even with this commercial card! Curator: It's striking how this small card holds so much about production processes and industrial expansion during the 19th century. I find it so interesting how consumer culture can become an object worthy of study and appreciation. Editor: And for me, viewing it through the lenses of social and economic impact enables this card to really illuminate the historical narrative, challenging the conventional perspectives around progress and labour practices of the era.