Card Number 369, Miss Marie Willliams, from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-7) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Duke Cigarettes 1880s

Curator: This is card number 369, part of the "Actors and Actresses" series, produced by W. Duke, Sons & Co. in the 1880s as a cigarette card. Specifically, it features Miss Marie Williams. Editor: Oh, she looks playful! It’s funny, you expect seriousness from portraits of the time, but there’s almost a cheeky sparkle to this, despite the sepia tones. Her outfit reminds me of a slightly undone Peter Pan, doesn’t it? Curator: Exactly! The casual, somewhat unconventional attire, speaks volumes when viewed through the lens of 19th-century societal expectations for women. Consider that these cards were aimed primarily at male consumers. How might the commodification and portrayal of female performers intersect with issues of gender, power, and spectatorship? Editor: Good point. She’s definitely performing. It makes you wonder what was expected of her, both in the theatre and in the marketplace. It's also interesting how these little cards made celebrities accessible, collectible even. Curator: Precisely. We can delve into how this particular card, through its mass distribution, contributes to constructing an image of idealized femininity. It’s not simply a portrait; it’s a piece of marketing, subtly encoding desires and anxieties of the time. Think of it in terms of visibility, representation and consumption. Editor: It feels…complicated, seeing it today. Part charm, part old-timey advertisement…and then the undertones you are pointing out about the objectification. It really does makes you wonder what Miss Marie Williams herself thought about all of this. Curator: Absolutely, it's layered. Examining objects like these cigarette cards provides rich insight into how individuals, especially women, navigated social structures and commodification during the late 19th century. Editor: I still keep coming back to how modern it feels, in a weird way. And makes me really curious about her as a person. Curator: It is fascinating indeed, something that keeps resonating as you spend time considering the interplay between her individuality and the larger economic forces at work in popular culture.