A Short History of General Benjamin F. Butler, from the Histories of Generals series (N114) issued by W. Duke, Sons & Co. to promote Honest Long Cut Smoking and Chewing Tobacco 1888

Editor: We're looking at "A Short History of General Benjamin F. Butler," a lithograph from 1888 by W. Duke, Sons & Co. It feels like a commemorative card of sorts. The combination of the general’s portrait and the soldier holding the flag seems to be celebrating military history, but the somewhat faded colors give it a nostalgic quality, too. What stands out to you when you look at this, given the context of when it was created? Curator: You know, what tickles my fancy about these trade cards is their… audacity, almost. Here's a serious Civil War figure – and love him or hate him, Butler *was* controversial – packaged to sell tobacco. The imagery is meant to evoke respectability, historical weight... it wants you to think of heroism! Yet, it's hawking "Honest Long Cut." Irony, thy name is advertising! Doesn’t this marriage seem a bit…awkward? Editor: I hadn’t thought of it that way. So it’s less about genuine historical appreciation and more about marketing, using history as a hook? Curator: Precisely! Consider this: after the Civil War, these images played a powerful role in shaping public memory. These cards subtly – or not so subtly – contributed to constructing and perpetuating specific narratives about the conflict, about heroism, about what it meant to be American. How fascinating that consumerism plays a pivotal role in such nationalistic ideas! Don’t you think? Editor: Definitely. I guess I was taking it at face value. I'll never look at old advertisements the same way again. Curator: Exactly!