Bear Coat, North American Chief, from the Savage and Semi-Barbarous Chiefs and Rulers series (N189) issued by Wm. S. Kimball & Co. 1888

This small chromolithograph card was created by William S. Kimball & Co, and like many such objects, it was a premium included in a package of cigarettes. In this case, it depicts a North American Chief, and it’s titled “Bear Coat”. The image is meticulously printed with an almost photographic level of detail, yet the card’s production process has imparted an aesthetic and cultural significance far removed from traditional fine art. The printing process allowed for mass production, reflecting the rise of consumer culture. The company made many of these cards, and that’s the point: they were meant to be collected, traded, and consumed, much like the tobacco they were packaged with. Cards like these were extremely popular, reflecting an era of industrialization and a growing fascination with the exotic, especially with cultures that colonizers were rapidly dispossessing. Considering its complex history and the debates it raises about representation, value, and the gaze of the colonizer, we can view this card as a lens through which to examine broader issues of labor, politics, and consumption.