Richard Harlow, from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-8) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Duke Cigarettes 1890 - 1895

This is a promotional cigarette card from around the turn of the century, made by W. Duke, Sons & Co., as part of their "Actors and Actresses" series. In it, we see a portrait of Richard Harlow. These cards were a clever marketing strategy, capitalizing on the burgeoning celebrity culture and the widespread popularity of smoking. Harlow, in her theatrical garb, becomes a commodity, packaged with and consumed alongside Duke's cigarettes. She is frozen in this pose, her identity intertwined with the act of consumption. The card participates in a broader cultural narrative about women in the public eye, particularly actresses, who were simultaneously celebrated and scrutinized. Their images, like Harlow's here, were circulated widely, contributing to both their fame and the objectification of their identities. Harlow presents us with the tension between empowerment and commodification experienced by women in the entertainment industry during that era.