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

This is Belle, from the Actors and Actresses series, a lithograph made by Allen & Ginter as a promotional insert for Virginia Brights Cigarettes. Printed on thin card stock, this portrait of Belle is a product of industrial printing processes, churned out in vast quantities for mass consumption. The image itself would have begun as a photograph. Its grayscale tones, softened by the printing process, lend a certain glamour, typical of the way celebrity was marketed at the time. The card’s small size speaks to its original purpose – a collectible treat for smokers. Its existence is tied to a culture of both leisure and addiction, reflecting the economic realities of the time. What appears to be simply a trivial image, in fact has complicated implications. Next time you encounter an image, consider its materiality, its mode of production, and what these can tell you about its original social and cultural context.