Governor Foraker, Ohio, from "Governors, Arms, Etc." series (N133-2), issued by Duke Sons & Co. 1885 - 1892

Editor: Here we have a fascinating piece – a collectible card from around 1885-1892, part of the "Governors, Arms, Etc." series by W. Duke, Sons & Co. It features Governor Foraker of Ohio. It's a mixed media piece, with drawing, print, and what looks like photography elements. I'm really struck by the graphic design—it feels so tied to advertising. What stands out to you most when you look at it? Curator: What a curious little artifact! It transports me back to a time when commerce and patriotism danced a strange tango. I see a triptych, a fragmented narrative. On one side, the industrious heartland; on the other, civic pride manifested in stone. But that central portrait—Foraker’s gaze holds a certain... ambition? A glint of the Gilded Age perhaps? Does it make you wonder about the story behind the cigarette cards? It's such a quirky blend of marketing and American idealism! Editor: Absolutely! The juxtaposition is really odd. It feels like a hodgepodge, but I guess that was the style back then. I do wonder if people at the time saw the connection between cigarettes and political figures as strange as we might today? Curator: I imagine it was more common than we think. These cards offered snippets of "high culture" mixed with the everyday pleasures – or vices – if you will. What this card screams to me is, a sense of national identity being branded, commodified, packaged for mass consumption. Like those old beer posters with buxom women driving cars; how cool that commercialism helps make things relatable. Doesn’t that little flag give you a sort of…hope? I see this small document as quintessentially "turn of the century," how about you? Editor: That’s a really interesting way to frame it. Now I see it more than just an old advertisement, but a symbol of a changing culture that wanted to show off and to put their own culture on these collector cards. It really shows off the world of commercialism and consumerism and its affect on cultural life! Curator: Precisely. It’s a snapshot of a world in flux, isn’t it? These were simpler times and more complicated. So are we.