Counter-Archives in
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Duke’s Cigarette Cards
Coins of All Nations, 1889

Case Study #1: Curation

The curated selection of photographs, prints, and drawings for each nation are chosen from the NYPL Digital Collection by doing a keyword search for the nation featured on the cigarette card. Results are narrowed down to the decades preceding and following 1889, the year Duke’s Cigarette Cards, Coins of All Nations was released.
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  • Do the curated materials share visual characteristics with the cigarette card? How are they different?
  • What is the point of view of the curated materials? What narratives are presented?
  • Does seeing the curated materials offer an alternative impression of the caricature on the cigarette card?
  • How might these images have influenced Americans’ idea of people from this nation?
  • Choose a card and create your own set of curated materials using the NYPL Digital Collections.

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French Empire.

French Empire.

Cigarette card, 1889

Coins of All Nations (Duke's Cigarettes)

George Arents Collection, The New York Public Library. "French Empire." The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1850 - 1959. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47de-3503-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99

Bonaparte à la Bataille d'Austerlitz.

Bonaparte à la Bataille d'Austerlitz.

Photograph

Tardieu, Ambroise, 1788-1841 (Artist)

The New York Public Library. "Bonaparte à la Bataille d'Austerlitz" The New York Public Library Digital Collections. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47e1-21a0-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99

Napoleon I at Malmaison, after painting by Jean-Baptiste Isabey, 1802

Napoleon I at Malmaison, after painting by Jean-Baptiste Isabey, 1802

Photograph

Isabey, Jean-Baptiste, 1767-1855 (Artist)

The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Print Collection, The New York Public Library. "Napoleon I at Malmaison, after painting by Jean-Baptiste Isabey, 1802" The New York Public Library Digital Collections. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/6d1df996-971a-f6b6-e040-e00a18063a3f

M. Casimir-Périer, Ex-President of the French Republic.

M. Casimir-Périer, Ex-President of the French Republic.

Photograph

The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Print Collection, The New York Public Library. "M. Casimir-Périer, Ex-President of the French Republic." The New York Public Library Digital Collections. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47de-50fa-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99

Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, President of the French Republic. (Elected 10th December 1848).

Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, President of the French Republic. (Elected 10th December 1848).

Photograph

The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Print Collection, The New York Public Library. "Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, President of the French Republic. (Elected 10th December 1848)" The New York Public Library Digital Collections. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47dd-c2eb-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99