Miss Langtry, from the Actresses series (N203) issued by Wm. S. Kimball & Co. 1889

This is Miss Langtry, from the Actresses series (N203) issued by Wm. S. Kimball & Co.. These cards were churned out by the millions, printed on thin paper stock, and included in cigarette packs. These photographs of actresses and other notable women weren't considered high art, of course. But in their own way, they reflect a fascination with fame and beauty, amplified by mass media. The images themselves are not so different from the celebrity portraits that fill our social media feeds today. What is different is the labor context. These cards are evidence of a vast, late-19th-century industrial system. Think of the factories turning out cigarettes, the printing presses churning out these images, and the distribution networks reaching consumers far and wide. This little card connects the dots between celebrity culture and mass production, reminding us that even the most ephemeral images are born of material processes.