American Elk, from the Wild Animals of the World series (N25) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes 1888

This is an "American Elk" trading card, printed by Allen & Ginter for insertion in cigarette packs. These cards, popular in the late 19th century in the United States, were not fine art, but they were ubiquitous, and they offered insight into a culture's values and anxieties. Here, a proud elk stands against a landscape reduced to a commercial shorthand for the wilderness; the card aestheticizes nature, reducing it to a pretty backdrop. But this image also speaks to an increasing anxiety around the destruction of that wilderness. By the late 19th century, many Americans were becoming aware of the environmental costs of industrial expansion. Elk populations, in particular, had been decimated by hunting and habitat loss. These cards can be seen as an early form of advertising, but they also inadvertently functioned as a form of environmental record keeping. To understand this image fully, historians consult not just art historical sources, but also ecological data, company records, and period advertising.