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

Curator: This albumen print captures Miss Woodford in what feels like a fleeting moment of repose. Produced by W. Duke, Sons & Co. sometime between 1890 and 1895, it belongs to their "Actors and Actresses" series, created to promote Duke Cigarettes. Editor: There’s an immediate softness to it, a vulnerability in the subject’s closed eyes and relaxed pose. It almost feels intrusive to observe such an intimate moment, doesn’t it? Curator: Intrusion was part of the point. These cards functioned within a larger system of commodification, not just of tobacco, but of celebrity and, I’d argue, femininity. Her image is used to sell a product, and in doing so, enters into the realm of popular culture, to be consumed and judged. Editor: So, Miss Woodford becomes a signifier then? Not just of herself, but of ideas around beauty, success, and even desire? The gauze draped over her body and ornate cushions could evoke classic orientalist fantasies as well. Curator: Absolutely. This connects to much broader trends of how women were represented in media at the time. Here, we see the “actress” made available as both a figure of aspiration and an object of the male gaze. These cards democratized access to such imagery and disseminated specific notions about what a woman should be and look like. Editor: It’s fascinating to consider how something so small could have such cultural weight. This isn’t just a portrait; it’s a social artifact, a piece of evidence about the relationship between advertising, gender, and popular culture during the late 19th century. Curator: Precisely. Examining objects like this trading card allows us to analyze the complex ways in which images circulated and influenced societal perceptions during this period of immense industrial and cultural change. Editor: Thanks for this fascinating discussion, really insightful as always!