Jane Hading, Paris, from the Actors and Actresses series (N45, Type 1) for Virginia Brights Cigarettes 1885 - 1891

Curator: Let’s consider this rather theatrical portrait of Jane Hading. Part of a series, “Actors and Actresses,” it was produced between 1885 and 1891 by Allen & Ginter as a promotional card for Virginia Brights Cigarettes, and it’s now housed at the Met. Editor: It strikes me as a tableau of high drama – melodramatic, almost. She’s seated, head in hand, a figure looming over her with an accusatory point. It’s charged. Curator: Precisely! This was during the Belle Époque, a time of burgeoning theater culture. Allen & Ginter shrewdly capitalized on celebrity. These cards were inserted into cigarette packs, encouraging brand loyalty through a fascination with fame. Editor: And, more specifically, appealing to certain conceptions of idealized womanhood and femininity. Note how her gesture almost obscures her face. What’s she meant to represent: remorse, guilt, shame? What societal constraints dictated a female actor’s performance and representation, on and off the stage? Curator: I find it equally revealing to consider the dynamics between commercialism and artistry. On the one hand, you have this ephemeral object—a cigarette card meant to be collected. On the other hand, you have an implicit claim about consumer habits, social status and leisure time in Europe. Editor: Absolutely. It speaks volumes about the way social currency and the emerging power of advertising intersected to elevate actors, primarily stage actors, and normalize smoking at once. Curator: So this photograph operates not merely as a picture, but as a carefully manufactured form of cultural capital during an era of profound social shifts. Editor: Indeed. By understanding that interrelation between art, representation, performance and power, we may glean deeper insight not just on Ms. Hading herself, but about late 19th century gender, consumerism, and identity at large. Curator: I am very glad we have spent time with this image! Editor: As am I. It offers a potent vignette.