Private, 7th Regiment, National Guard of the State of New York, 1887, from the Military Series (N224) issued by Kinney Tobacco Company to promote Sweet Caporal Cigarettes 1888

This chromolithograph, published in 1887 by the Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company, depicts a private in the 7th Regiment of the New York National Guard. The soldier’s stance, with hands clasped demurely in front, is fascinating. It echoes the *pudicitia* pose, a gesture of modesty found in classical sculptures of goddesses. This gesture was used to denote virtue and chastity. Here, transposed onto a soldier, the pose perhaps suggests not only discipline and restraint but also a subtle invocation of the ideals of civic virtue. Interestingly, this same clasped-hand motif appears in devotional images across centuries. In religious contexts, it suggests prayer, submission, and piety. Its recurrence in military portraiture is telling. It highlights the evolving symbolism of gestures and how they resurface across disparate cultural spheres, subtly altering our perception of the subject. The image stirs deep-seated emotions connecting viewers to shared cultural memories.