Jennie Bartine, from the Actors and Actresses series (N171) for Temple Bar Cigarettes 1886 - 1890

This late nineteenth-century Goodwin & Company tobacco card features Jennie Bartine, an actress of the time. Sold as a collectible with Temple Bar Cigarettes, cards like these offer a glimpse into the era’s popular culture. Note the performative theatricality of the portrait. Posed in costume against a backdrop of exotic foliage and faux-classical architecture, Bartine is presented as an object of spectacle. The image promotes not just her persona but also the consumer culture of the Gilded Age. It reflects how celebrity endorsements and mass-produced collectibles were becoming intertwined with marketing strategies. To understand this card fully, we delve into theater history and advertising studies, as well as consumer culture. These sources can illuminate the social and economic conditions that shaped the production and reception of images like these.