Alice Oates, from the Actors and Actresses series (N171) for Gypsy Queen Cigarettes 1886 - 1890

This small card depicting Alice Oates was made by Goodwin & Company as part of a promotional series for Gypsy Queen Cigarettes. The photographic image, printed on paper, reflects a moment in time captured through then-modern technology, but also a cog in the machinery of mass production and consumption. Consider the context: photography had become increasingly accessible, but was still a far cry from the instant images we create today. Each card would have been printed in bulk, a disposable item intended to be collected or traded. The sepia tone, inherent to early photographic processes, lends a nostalgic air, yet it also speaks to the industrial scale of its creation. These cards blur the lines between art, advertising, and ephemera. The image of Alice Oates, an actress, is transformed into a commodity, tied to the allure of both celebrity and tobacco. It reminds us that even seemingly simple objects can reveal complex relationships between labor, leisure, and the burgeoning consumer culture of the late 19th century.