Net54baseball.com Forums

Net54baseball.com Forums (http://www.net54baseball.com/index.php)
-   Hockey, Olympic, Auto Racing And All Other Cards (http://www.net54baseball.com/forumdisplay.php?f=11)
-   -   Bubblegum Propaganda? (http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=343924)

lampertb 12-15-2023 09:09 AM

Bubblegum Propaganda?
 
I just discovered Bowman's 1951 Red Menace series of cards, which basically communicate the anti-Communist sentiments of the time for children. I also consider Goudey's Indian Gum series to be in a similar vein because it expresses some pretty clear stereotypes of the time about Native Americans and Manifest Destiny.
Are there other examples of this, mainstream card sets from the past that are ideologically really one-sided and function to some degree as propagandist?

blankcheque1914 12-21-2023 06:10 PM

N189 W.S. Kimball & More
 
Around 1888-89, W.S. Kimball Cigarettes released their (perhaps now infamous) set titled "Savage and Semi-Barbarous Chiefs and Rulers" (N189). It's a pretty good example of the racist sentiments of the day. Native American chiefs as well as African and Asian rulers are featured dressed in colorful garb. I interpret that the artist intended to portray the rulers as "exotic" and "savage", as the name implies.

In a similar vein, Duke's Cigarettes had a set titled "Coins of All Nations" (N72), although I struggle to recommend this set purely for numismatic inquiry. Each card depicts a caricature that you might interpret as unflattering. For instance, the card for England portrays a "snobbish" woman above the facsimile of a Sovereign.

Collectors interested in the culture norms of the day (American Exceptionalism) will be attracted in these sets, but I imagine they aren’t for everyone.

wdmullins 01-05-2024 08:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blankcheque1914 (Post 2398909)
Around 1888-89, W.S. Kimball Cigarettes released their (perhaps now infamous) set titled "Savage and Semi-Barbarous Chiefs and Rulers" (N189). It's a pretty good example of the racist sentiments of the day. Native American chiefs as well as African and Asian rulers are featured dressed in colorful garb. I interpret that the artist intended to portray the rulers as "exotic" and "savage", as the name implies.

I was able to identify the original images that some of these cards were adapted from, and they seem to be fairly accurate. The people depicted were real, and they actually wore colorful garb in real life. I don't see how it is racist to show that.


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 05:03 PM.