Card Number 737, Miss Sheible, from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-3) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Cross Cut Cigarettes 1880s

This small card, featuring Miss Sheible, was produced by W. Duke, Sons & Co. to promote Cross Cut Cigarettes in late nineteenth-century America. The image captures a cultural fascination with actors and actresses, turning them into figures of aspiration and desire. But more importantly, the card reveals how institutions, like tobacco companies, used art and celebrity to shape consumer culture. Through visual codes, the image presents Miss Sheible as both elegant and accessible, embodying the aspirational lifestyle promised by the brand. This was a time of rapid industrialization and urbanization and new forms of entertainment. Cards like these helped create a shared cultural experience, linking smoking with glamour and success. To fully understand the image's impact, we need to consider the social conditions of the time. Researching advertising history, popular culture, and the biographies of performers like Miss Sheible can provide a broader context. Ultimately, this card reminds us that art is always embedded in a web of social, economic, and institutional forces.