Card Number 142, Miss Kingdon, from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-6) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Duke Cigarettes 1880s

Curator: Here we have a trade card from the 1880s, specifically, card number 142, from the Actors and Actresses series issued by W. Duke, Sons & Co. as promotion for Duke Cigarettes. It features Miss Kingdon, captured in a photographic print. Editor: It's striking how intimate this small portrait feels, almost like a miniature cameo. The soft sepia tone lends an air of nostalgia. And she has an alluring yet subdued gaze. Curator: These cards served a dual purpose. While certainly promoting cigarettes, they simultaneously capitalized on the burgeoning celebrity culture of the late 19th century. Actresses, like Miss Kingdon here, became easily recognizable faces through such commercial ventures. Editor: That headscarf seems like a specific marker, doesn't it? Its polka dots create a fascinating interplay between concealment and display, softening her appearance and hinting at domesticity, though it's juxtaposed against the very public nature of her profession. There's a kind of Madonna-like appeal to this image, which, if intended, may have served to reassure an increasingly diverse audience about her morals and values. Curator: I see it more as about democratization and the blurring of lines. An item normally associated with a wealthy, aristocratic clientele – an actress – available as a portrait within something so everyday as a cigarette packet. Suddenly, ‘high’ and ‘low’ culture begin to meet and merge. What was the social impact of this in your opinion? Editor: Well, images of actresses in mass production presented to an eager consumer culture allowed for the common viewer to interpret or identify the images in a way they see fit to fit into society. Duke Cigarettes also took a calculated risk of promoting popular public female personas as a way to advertise their business. Curator: Precisely! Cigarette cards became miniature social documents. And looking at this particular image, Miss Kingdon becomes representative of shifting social attitudes. Editor: Absolutely, and seeing this humble artifact pulls back layers of history embedded in a tiny, printed card.