In the Starlight, from the Illustrated Songs series (N116) issued by W. Duke, Sons & Co. to promote Honest Long Cut Tobacco 1893

Curator: This is "In the Starlight," a print from 1893, part of the "Illustrated Songs" series produced by W. Duke, Sons & Co. to promote their Honest Long Cut Tobacco. Editor: First impressions? It’s…well, slightly unsettling. It feels like a fever dream playing out on a cigarette card. That intense gaze paired with the star practically impaling her forehead! Is she a celestial being or just extremely stressed? Curator: These cards often borrowed from popular imagery and theatre of the time. But look at the Japonisme influence in the design—the stylized floral border, the flat planes of color. Editor: Yes, and considering W. Duke's company history, this feels less like a celebration of art and more like an artifact of capitalist exploitation, glorifying an industry built on the backs of enslaved people who cultivated the tobacco. The star, then, feels like a false idol of the “American Dream.” Curator: That’s a powerful interpretation. I tend to see the star as a symbol of idealized beauty, something ethereal and slightly unattainable, reflecting the dreams that advertising often sells. The soft coloring gives it a romantic, dreamy quality. Editor: But romance is often used as a smokescreen, right? The "Honest Long Cut Tobacco" promise, emblazoned on something so fragile and aspirational… there’s an inherent contradiction, almost a cruel joke embedded in the aesthetic itself. Curator: You’re urging us to consider the context, to question the seemingly innocent imagery. These images circulated widely, shaping perceptions. Editor: Exactly. And they perpetuated certain beauty standards too. Looking closer, you can also consider the presentation of femininity—soft, demure. What would it mean to re-appropriate and re-imagine that image of womanhood? Curator: So much is loaded into this small, seemingly innocuous piece. The tobacco industry, artistic appropriation, the performance of gender, all compressed onto a tiny card. Editor: These types of objects offer rich potential for further excavation. What stories can be unearthed from even the most ordinary sources, I wonder?