Lillian Grubb, from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-8) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Duke Cigarettes 1890 - 1895

Curator: Up next, we have an albumen print dating from between 1890 and 1895, featuring Lillian Grubb. It comes from a series of actors and actresses distributed by Duke Sons & Co. as cigarette cards. Editor: There’s a softness to this portrait—a diffused focus. The sepia tones give it an intimate, almost dreamlike quality. The oval framing also helps contain your gaze onto Lillian herself. Curator: These cards served a very specific purpose, popularizing actors like Grubb and essentially using their fame to sell tobacco. Consider how stars, then as now, could be marketing tools, and tobacco companies capitalized on public fascination with these public figures. Editor: Yes, and look how the light softly defines her features. Her almost translucent skin and loose wavy hair, gives the figure an ethereal look. The detail given in the earring versus other aspects of her hair is also notable. The card is designed for consumption, quickly absorbed and appealing to popular taste of the period. Curator: Absolutely, and that accessibility was key. Albumen prints were relatively inexpensive to produce in bulk, making them ideal for this kind of mass distribution. Collecting these cards became a widespread pastime, creating a direct link between consuming a product and engaging with popular culture. Also notice the name subtly added in a delicate san-serif typography to associate celebrity and commercial entity. Editor: Though faded and perhaps a bit damaged now, one can appreciate how it uses minimal tones for striking contrast. There is also very good harmony between soft round forms in the face, her curled hair, the necklace and even the general composition within the containing rectangle, as opposed to right angles. All these subtle features point to good control of formal aspects. Curator: I agree. What it reveals about our history is how advertising has intertwined itself with celebrity endorsements since that time, and it brings many layers to what a portrait can convey. The image, originally promoting cigarettes, now sits in the Metropolitan Museum of Art! Editor: Precisely. Its survival grants us insight into the aesthetic choices of that era, while preserving a compelling visual structure in such delicate and minimal form.