The Roman father-god Jupiter with a handful of thunderbolts.
This fantastic public domain tobacco poster comes from the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. In it, we find a scantily clad Jupiter standing on a mass of clouds with a handful of lightning bolts in his right hand. The bolts are radiating in every direction like the spokes on a wheel. Falling from his left shoulder is a dismembered head.
This advertisement was published in 1868. Because of this pre-1923 publication date, this image is in the public domain.
50 megabyte TIFF. Hosted at the Library of Congress.
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03.15.10
The image is an advertisement of cigars. Since the cigar company is named as Jupiter Cigars, in the advertisement they have displayed the image of Roman God Jupiter holding thunderbolts. Jupiter was the God of sky and thunder according to the old Roman concept.
Jupiter was the king of Gods according to roman mythology.The Romans believed in different Gods And Goddesses They believed that different powers in world are controlled by different Gods. So we can understand that Romans consider Jupiter as a very powerful God. And it may be the reason that the cigar company have named their cigars after the Roman God Jupiter. Because the cigar may a powerful or strong one and the name Jupiter will add to its sense.
The color and texture of the image will match the advertisement of cigar. Moreover the cigar power can be denoted with image. Here the cigars power is compared with that of thunderbolts and the god Jupiter.
When i saw the image i thought it was just the image of God Jupiter. After reading the headline of image I understood that it was the advertisement of cigars.But the image and name actually suits the cigars.
The Roman God Jupiter has similarity with the Greek God Zeus. They were both gods of the sky and would throw lightning bolts if they got angry.
03.15.10
The image is a label used by a tobacco company. It depicts the Roman God Jupiter in his Heavenly abode wielding above his head a shield of lightning bolts radiating in all directions and a dismembered head falling from his left hand.
Jupiter, in Roman mythology, was king of the Gods and God of lightning and thunder. People born under the lucky planet of Jupiter are considered ‘jovial’ which was believed to make them jolly, optimistic and buoyant in temperament. The tobacco company would find this image beneficial in describing the effect of using their product.
Perhaps in today’s context, this image could be likened to a depiction of nirvana, a manifestation of the ‘high’ induced by drugs. As a tobacco label, it could imply that to use this product would induce euphoria. This is emphasized by many aspects of the picture – Jupiter is scantily clad, indicating loss of inhibition; he is a God in the sky, indicating that users of the product would feel like they are walking on air and superior to all, even God-like, the two heads indicate the blurring of senses. The lightning rods stand for power, freedom and strength. It is an image that would appeal to youth, who are constantly looking for all these attributes.