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The Picture of Oscar Wilde

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 October 2020

Michael North
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Extract

If I were to choose a single image to represent the interest and challenge of working with visual materials, I think it would be the rather outlandish bit of kitsch in figure 1 and not a more attractive or impressive example. Part of the appeal for me, I would have to admit, is the visual humor of the situation, for this image of Oscar Wilde appears on a collectible cigar card, one that adult smokers were apparently meant to save, just as young baseball fans now save and cherish the cards of their heroes. In fact, this must have been one of the first such cards, which had only been in use for a few years when it appeared sometime around 1882. The novelty of the enterprise of collectible cards might explain Wilde's unexpected appearance here, where it is surprising to find a literary subject.

Type
Theories and Methodologies
Information
PMLA , Volume 125 , Issue 1 , January 2010 , pp. 185 - 191
Copyright
Copyright © Modern Language Association of America, 2010

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References

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