Actress lifting long skirt to dance, from Stars of the Stage, Second Series (N130) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Honest Long Cut Tobacco 1891

This small color lithograph of an actress was published by W. Duke, Sons & Co., a tobacco company, around 1888. It was originally a promotional insert for ‘Honest Long Cut Tobacco’. These ‘trade cards’ were hugely popular at the time, and this one comes from a series called "Stars of the Stage." Note how the actress is presented: her stylized costume and playful pose are designed to capture the viewer's attention and associate the tobacco brand with glamour and entertainment. The image also speaks to the growing popularity of the performing arts during this period, reflecting broader shifts in leisure and consumer culture. Tobacco companies often used images of women to appeal to male consumers, subtly linking ideas of pleasure and sophistication with their products. To fully understand such images, we have to look to a variety of historical sources, from advertising archives to theater programs. The meaning of art is never fixed but always depends on its social and institutional context.