Card Number 16, Edith Kingdon, from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-2) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Cross Cut Cigarettes 1880s

Curator: This is card number 16, portraying Edith Kingdon, from the "Actors and Actresses" series produced by W. Duke, Sons & Co. in the 1880s to promote Cross Cut Cigarettes. Editor: It has an intriguing sepia tone. She appears somewhat pensive, with an intriguing almost staged quality; is that a candle in her hand? Curator: Exactly! The image is an albumen print. Note how Duke used popular imagery to insert itself into the burgeoning consumer culture. These cards weren’t just for collectors; they circulated through society. The company harnessed the star power of the actress to make everyday product desirable and circulate its brand as far as possible. Editor: Right, because it also feels incredibly ephemeral and meant to be disposed. Albumen prints aren’t inherently valuable objects in and of themselves - so where does the cultural value lie here? Are we really that affected by celebrity or are the labor and consumption practices more interesting to interrogate? Curator: Precisely, one wonders what Kingdon herself thought about her likeness being used to sell cigarettes. This sort of image normalized smoking while exploiting public figures, whether they approved or not. These images became part of how celebrity was defined in this period. Editor: What a peculiar distribution method too - adding prints of actresses in cigarette packs! Imagine the social and gendered impact of inserting images into this kind of mass consumption. Curator: It shows how savvy they were. Duke was one of the earliest adopters of inserting printed images. You get an item that reinforces Duke's brand as progressive. Editor: Thinking of distribution networks makes this image feel a little more radical in a socio-historical sense; and that for something that was designed to go in the trash! Thank you for illuminating the story around the image. Curator: Thank you; hopefully this provides a broader context around celebrity culture and consumption during the late 19th century!