Bride Rose, from the Flowers series for Old Judge Cigarettes 1890

Goodwin & Company created this small chromolithograph called Bride Rose, from the Flowers series for Old Judge Cigarettes sometime between 1850 and 1950. This was an era when tobacco companies commonly included collectible cards with their products. More than just a pretty picture, this card is steeped in cultural meaning. The ‘bride rose’ itself speaks volumes. During the Victorian era, flowers were assigned specific meanings, allowing for communication through bouquets. White roses, like the one depicted here, symbolized purity, innocence, and new beginnings. These were all qualities highly valued in women during that time. By associating their cigarettes with such imagery, Goodwin & Company was subtly linking their product to ideas of beauty, grace, and perhaps even a certain idealized vision of womanhood. What does it mean to use the image of the Bride Rose to sell cigarettes? Consider the cultural implications of linking ideals of purity and marriage with a product that has complex associations with pleasure, status, and addiction.