Card 775, Annie Summerfield, from the Actors and Actresses series (N45, Type 2) for Virginia Brights Cigarettes 1885 - 1891

Curator: I’m immediately struck by the intimate, almost wistful expression on her face. There's a quiet defiance in the way she holds herself. Editor: Indeed. This is “Card 775, Annie Summerfield, from the Actors and Actresses series (N45, Type 2) for Virginia Brights Cigarettes.” Allen & Ginter produced it sometime between 1885 and 1891. The card is an example of how photography, prints and drawings were combined to popularize both personalities and products at the time. It now resides in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Curator: Ah, yes, these actresses on trade cards! How complicit was the actress in becoming a fetishized object for consumer consumption? What were her negotiations? Editor: A key aspect to consider is that cards such as these reflect the social currency of performers. Cigarette companies understood the selling power of celebrity endorsements in establishing a desirable brand identity, contributing to both the performer’s and the product’s visibility. Curator: Exactly! And her costume—it suggests some kind of performance, a character she’s embodying, one laden with the theatrical clichés about women, performance, desire, and exoticism... Editor: While, on the surface, the cards served to advertise cigarettes and boost sales, they simultaneously fostered a culture of collecting and trading, creating communities of consumers invested in these public figures. The circulation of these images also expanded the visual representation of women in media, though certainly within prescribed boundaries. Curator: But let’s also acknowledge the problematic underbelly: Tobacco and its marketing relied on colonialist structures, with connections to race, power and profit which continue to resonate today. These images need to be viewed through that lens as well. Editor: Absolutely. And viewing the card in that broader social, cultural, and economic context makes it clear it embodies the complexities and contradictions inherent in the popular culture of the era. Curator: It definitely provokes contemplation on the historical frameworks of visibility and commodification for female performers. Editor: Yes, offering a glimpse into the cultural mechanisms at play in late 19th-century America.