Card 821, Lillie Grub, from the Actors and Actresses series (N45, Type 7) for Dixie Cigarettes 1885 - 1891

Allen & Ginter's "Card 821, Lillie Grub" from the Actors and Actresses series is a small, sepia-toned card that captures the likeness of a performer. The soft focus and muted palette create a hazy, dreamlike quality, evoking a sense of nostalgia. The composition, though simple, relies on the figure's placement and pose to draw the viewer's eye. The subject is presented with a deliberate sense of artifice. It’s as though we have been given a glimpse behind the stage. The card itself functions as both a portrait and a commodity, part of a larger set meant to be collected and traded. The serial nature of these cards, distributed with cigarettes, speaks to the industrialization and commodification of leisure and celebrity in the late 19th century. The print invites us to consider the relationship between image, representation, and value. Is this image simply a portrait of Lillie Grub, or is it part of a larger cultural discourse?