Card Number 190, Miss O'Neil, from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-2) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Cross Cut Cigarettes 1880s

This is a promotional card from around 1900, made by the cigarette firm W. Duke, Sons & Co. using mass production techniques. It's made of cardstock, with an image of Miss O'Neil printed on it. What's really interesting here is how a celebrity image was turned into a commodity. Photography had become cheap and widespread, but putting these cards into cigarette packs created a kind of collectible craze. Suddenly, the means of production was directed toward ephemera. The company wasn't selling art, but this type of consumer marketing blurred the lines. The material – the cheap cardstock – is itself evidence of industrial capitalism at work, churning out images for profit. So, next time you light up, consider the complex relationship between art, commerce, and the everyday materials that surround us. It may change your perspective on both.