Miss Corinne, from the Actresses series (N246), Type 1, issued by Kinney Brothers to promote Sporting Extra Cigarettes 1888 - 1892

Curator: This photographic print, “Miss Corinne,” is part of the "Actresses" series from Kinney Brothers, dating between 1888 and 1892. What are your initial thoughts? Editor: There's something undeniably haunting about this image. The faded sepia tone gives it an aura of distant memory, and the composition feels very deliberate. I’m also curious about what specific printing processes were being employed. Curator: The actress gazes towards the light with a gentle air of quietness. Early photography created celebrity culture in a new way, using imagery to create intimacy with popular actresses like Corinne. Editor: Right, this was commercial photography; a means to create demand and integrate itself within daily commodities. These weren’t necessarily meant to hang on walls but be casually consumed. What kind of paper was typically used for these? And what would have been the ink formulation for such small runs of promotional prints? Curator: It is intriguing to consider how she, as a woman in the public eye, likely curated her persona and controlled the narratives circulating about her. The flowers embroidered into her gown could be laden with significant meaning and send different symbolic messages about beauty and virtue to the male gaze, for example. Editor: Absolutely, but those aren’t actual flowers, are they? It's an applied textile detail; perhaps machine-made lace sewn onto her dress specifically for the sitting. Understanding how this photographic ‘reality’ was carefully staged is important. Was there any hand-coloring on these? That would change the production timeline. Curator: You make a crucial point; images such as this offered actresses some means of agency to construct a desired self-image through visual symbols within an environment and historical time of restrictive gender roles. Editor: So, in effect, Miss Corinne is performing, not just on stage, but in this commercial image designed to be reproduced ad nauseam. A photograph within the capitalist drive of turn of the century advertising culture. Curator: Thinking of Miss Corinne's projected image, I'm curious how modern viewers interpret the intentional choices embedded within its visual symbols. Editor: And for me, it’s the tangible weight of those choices; the very materiality of this small card is saturated with social meaning. Thank you.