Card Number 76, from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-1) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Cross Cut Cigarettes 1880s

Editor: This albumen print from the 1880s, "Card Number 76, from the Actors and Actresses series" by W. Duke, Sons & Co., is pretty fascinating. It's ostensibly a portrait, but feels very performative and manufactured, like a staged advertisement. What can you tell me about it? Curator: You've nailed the performative aspect. These cards were designed to be collected and traded, acting as mini billboards in a way. The image becomes less about representing an individual, and more about projecting an aspirational image for consumers, often playing on stereotypes or romanticized professions. Does knowing it was linked to Cross Cut Cigarettes shift your view of the work? Editor: Definitely. I guess it’s less about the actress and more about creating a desirable association with the product. How does this context change how we see the model's presentation or expression? Curator: Precisely! The actress’s presentation is highly stylized, almost a costume. The "portrait" is a construction—meant to conjure up a specific idea or feeling in the consumer's mind. Consider, too, who was circulating and collecting these cards? Which populations were the marketers trying to target with specific representations? Editor: So it’s about the consumption of the image as much as the product itself? The cultural narrative being sold through this "portrait?" Curator: Absolutely. These cigarette cards offer a fascinating glimpse into the construction of celebrity, identity, and the mechanics of consumer culture in the late 19th century. The portrait here exists less as a unique artwork and more as a cultural artifact enmeshed in socio-economic systems. Editor: I never would have thought to analyze a cigarette card with such historical and social awareness! This makes me want to go home and analyze some contemporary advertising. Curator: It's all about understanding art as part of broader power structures and cultural narratives. And don’t we find it relevant that these portraits still circulate, even if as digitized images of tobacco advertising?