Cuckoo, from the Birds of America series (N37) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes 1888

This small card, made by Allen and Ginter for their cigarettes, depicts a cuckoo bird, nestled among pink and white roses. The roses and the bird are potent symbols, steeped in cultural meaning. The rose, a timeless emblem of love and beauty, appears in countless artworks across centuries, from Botticelli's Venus to Renaissance portraits. Yet, here, amidst an advertisement, the rose feels displaced, its sacred aura diluted by commerce. Similarly, the cuckoo, often associated with springtime and renewal, also carries a darker connotation as a symbol of trickery, and parasitic behavior due to its habit of laying its eggs in the nests of other birds. Consider how these symbols resurface in different contexts—the rose in a lover's gift, the cuckoo in a cautionary tale. They evolve, carrying echoes of their past lives, engaging us on a subconscious level. It shows us the complex dance between nature, culture, and commerce.