King Rail, from the Game Birds series (N13) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes Brands 1889

This ‘King Rail’ card, part of a series by Allen & Ginter, was printed using chromolithography, a popular method for mass-producing color images. The bird is beautifully rendered, but let’s consider this card within its original context: a cigarette pack. Chromolithography allowed for detailed, vibrant images, printed in bulk, that would have enticed consumers. The card’s small size and the collectible nature of the series encouraged repeated purchases. This speaks volumes about the era’s industrial capitalism, where art was integrated into everyday commerce. Look closely at the details of the bird's feathers, and the marshy background. These details would have required skilled artisans to prepare the printing stones. The contrast is quite striking, between the high level of craft involved in the card's production, and its ultimate role as a throwaway promotional item. By appreciating the printing process and the card’s function, we can see how deeply art, labor, and consumer culture were intertwined. The King Rail is not just an image of a bird, but an artifact of 19th-century commercial life.