Le Daly, from the Actors and Actresses series (N171) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1886 - 1890

Curator: Here we have "Le Daly, from the Actors and Actresses series (N171) for Old Judge Cigarettes," created sometime between 1886 and 1890 by Goodwin & Company. It is a photographic print, specifically an etching. It's rather small, intended to be included in cigarette packs. Editor: The most striking feature for me is the central figure herself: the pose is provocative, yet somehow simultaneously playful, the set has a staged feeling. The lighting creates a soft intimate feeling... and there is that little detail: a Japanese screen on the left corner. Curator: Precisely! This piece comes from a time of enormous cultural and social shifts in America, influenced significantly by what we now call Japonisme. These cigarette cards featuring actresses tapped into the burgeoning advertising industry, elevating actresses to celebrity status while also peddling consumer goods to the masses. Editor: It’s remarkable how this little card captures that tension between artistic influence, commercial ambition, and the evolving image of women. The Japanese screen isn't mere decoration. Japan was, in a way, exotic and desirable; in that era, and including it subtly suggests sophistication, but within a context controlled by tobacco industry needs and established mores. What did Daly mean? The figure has to exude both accessibility and something rare. Curator: And it's a careful dance. The image of Le Daly could be distributed across socioeconomic strata—promoting the accessibility of celebrity culture via commodities and solidifying existing ideas about fame and public image, while boosting capitalist interests! There's a potent power dynamic at play. Editor: Exactly! Daly is the linchpin of it all. The slightly affected pose reminds us of the construction of image: how female performers walked the tightrope of desire, exoticism, respectability, mass media, the marketplace, etcetera. This seemingly simple card is dense with all of that encoded meaning. Curator: I'm glad we looked closer, there's a complexity beneath the surface. Editor: Me too. A little cardboard rectangle with a huge cultural resonance, hard to forget!