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In the early 20th century this particular brand of cigarettes, Ogden’s Guinea Gold, primarily targeted men. In fact, a campaign featuring highly ranked colonels, majors and even Lords is chief among the brand’s early advertising efforts. This advertisement, however, targets women who seek strength and power afforded only to men at the time. The woman depicted in this image sits proudly and confidently on a bicycle, a lit cigarette in her mouth and both hands on her hips. Though she wears a modest, heavy, dark velvet dress with puffed sleeves, her skirt is hiked up above the knee and there is a run in her stockings. Her air of rebellion and imprudence appeals to the type of woman who might smoke a cigarette in the early 1900s, when smoking was a habit reserved principally for men.
Athletic, Bike, Female, Independence
