A Short History of General Don Carlos Buell, from the Histories of Generals series (N114) issued by W. Duke, Sons & Co. to promote Honest Long Cut Smoking and Chewing Tobacco 1888

Editor: Here we have "A Short History of General Don Carlos Buell," a color print dating to 1888, by W. Duke, Sons & Co. It's part of a series used to promote tobacco. The design is so unusual - it combines a portrait, botanicals, a patriotic emblem and eagle. It really has the feeling of a collage, a very curious combination. How should we understand this? Curator: This is a fascinating example of the intersection of commerce, patriotism, and popular culture. Cigarette cards like these served a very specific purpose. Who was the target audience? What type of political narratives were tobacco companies trying to cultivate? Editor: So, it's not just a portrait of a Civil War general, it's a tool for something larger. Do the other images—the flowers, eagle, flag—have specific symbolic weight? Curator: Absolutely. Consider the context. It's some years after the Civil War. The country's trying to reconcile and rebuild a national identity. Think about how these images are working to reinforce a particular version of that history and national pride amongst consumers, primarily white men at this point in American history. How might someone like General Buell, with his own complicated role in the war, fit into that narrative? Editor: So the goal isn't historical accuracy as much as marketing and forging cultural agreement through consumption? I hadn't considered the political and economic work this small print was doing. Curator: Exactly! It’s a reminder that even seemingly innocuous objects like tobacco cards can be powerful carriers of cultural values and political ideologies. What we collect, what we consume, defines our personal values. Editor: Thanks, this has changed my perspective completely; what looked like an innocent, and slightly odd, design, turns out to be a very deliberate piece of social engineering. Curator: Indeed. The politics of imagery are often subtly embedded in the everyday.