Card Number 145, Billie Barlow, from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-4) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Cameo Cigarettes 1880s

Editor: This is a trading card from the 1880s featuring Billie Barlow, an actress. It was made by Duke Sons & Co. as an advertisement for Cameo Cigarettes. The sepia tone and her elaborate dress give it such an old-world charm. What compositional elements stand out to you? Curator: Immediately, I am drawn to the tonal range and contrast. The composition has an arrangement of light and dark that creates visual interest, drawing your eye towards the subject. Her dress is of an impressive fabrication. The use of light and shadow highlights its textures. Editor: So you focus on the aesthetic of it rather than the intended purpose of advertising cigarettes? Curator: Exactly. While the card certainly served a commercial function, the visual design possesses an intrinsic value independent of its advertising goal. We can see how the printmaker’s formal choices elevates a simple advertising card to art, and examine the symmetry versus asymmetry, the placement of type as image versus sign, the figure ground relationship…. These formal considerations give insight into the nature of aesthetics, don't you think? Editor: It definitely does, yes! What have you learned looking at this image? Curator: That even seemingly functional objects such as these trade cards can achieve striking formal sophistication, encouraging us to see the image, apart from what it references. Editor: I never really thought about the aesthetic choices that go into trading cards like this, it’s pretty amazing. Thank you!