Hurrah for the New Year, from the New Years 1890 series (N227) issued by Kinney Bros. 1889 - 1890

Curator: What an interesting piece to examine. This image, cheerfully titled "Hurrah for the New Year!" comes to us from the Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company, dating between 1889 and 1890. It’s a colored-pencil drawing, a promotional print really, made as part of their "New Years 1890 series". Editor: It’s…quaint! Almost aggressively optimistic. My initial feeling is one of, well, nostalgia mixed with a slight sense of bewilderment. It's giving me some strange vintage energy. I can’t decide whether I’m charmed or if the sheer exuberance makes me want to dig a bit deeper. Curator: Let's dig. Kinney Brothers were masters of utilizing the cultural trends of their era. Promotional art was key in the competitive tobacco industry, and these “cigarette cards” offer insight into societal aspirations and popular imagery. The late 19th century experienced rapid industrialization and the celebration of the New Year likely mirrored a desire for progress and good fortune. Editor: Absolutely, and the image screams turn-of-the-century optimism. The boy riding what appears to be a rocket shaped like a pencil labelled “1890” embodies a desire for a fresh start, of breaking free from previous constraints. Though it seems playful, it is in fact rife with suggestions of colonialism and expansion. The character, however, throws up questions for me. Dressed as he is in what can read like some form of exotic folk costume, he is flying to the future? Is he being flown there or is he piloting this rocket-pencil himself? And what would the implications of this scenario have been on audiences then, at the height of western imperialism? Curator: Good points, and the figuration leans into those complex elements of power dynamics. These mass-produced images played a significant role in shaping public perception and consumer culture, so we have to approach these artworks aware of the era's limitations. In essence, they are caricatures of the time, aren't they? They're simultaneously reflecting aspirations, but also shaping consumerist values. Editor: I agree. This New Year's print reveals just how consumerism can permeate celebrations, intertwining the promise of progress with the desire for material goods. It's a tiny capsule of how ideology can infiltrate our collective unconscious through even the most apparently joyful means. It's given me a new awareness to examine more everyday artifacts. Curator: Indeed. Context allows us a necessary understanding of both that era, and indeed our own.