Swampscott, Massachusetts, from the Surf Beauties series (N232), issued by Kinney Bros. 1889

“Swampscott, Massachusetts, from the Surf Beauties series” was distributed by the Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company, sometime in the late 19th century. This small lithograph, originally a cigarette card, features a woman in a bathing costume against a backdrop of the Massachusetts shoreline. These cards were a quintessential element of a burgeoning consumer culture, offering glimpses into contemporary ideals of beauty and leisure. The series “Surf Beauties” speaks volumes about the changing role of women in society. As women gained more access to public spaces like beaches, advertising imagery played a crucial role in shaping and mediating their representation. This image presents a vision of the ‘modern woman’; athletic, confident, and enjoying the freedom of the seaside. However, the commercial nature of the image underscores its primary function: to sell tobacco. The ‘Surf Beauties’ were not just celebrating female empowerment, but also commodifying it for a male audience. The image is rife with contradictions, encapsulating the complex negotiations of gender, class, and commerce. Ultimately, this cigarette card is a layered artifact, revealing both the progressive strides and the persistent objectification of women in the late 19th century.