Miss Parks, from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-2) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Cross Cut Cigarettes 1880s

Editor: We're looking at "Miss Parks," a photographic print dating back to the 1880s by W. Duke, Sons & Co., currently housed at the Met. There's almost a dreamlike quality to it; like a scene from a play frozen in time. What do you make of it? Curator: Oh, it whispers stories, doesn't it? It is more than just a pretty picture on a cigarette card; it’s a portal to a past where entertainment was shifting and celebrity was being manufactured. It smells faintly of tobacco and the ambitions of countless performers, a world built on image. Do you catch the playful contradiction of using "actresses" to hawk "Cross Cut Cigarettes"? Almost satirical. Editor: So, these cards weren’t necessarily about artistic expression, but more of an early marketing tactic? Curator: Precisely. But marketing is an art, isn't it? Note how carefully she's posed, a delicate balance between approachability and the unattainable ideal. Do you think her clothing has some role? Editor: It makes her look posh but at the same time almost doll-like, maybe it goes with the stage actress look they wanted to portray? Curator: Yes, but look closely, can't you see the brushstrokes of hope in those eyes, a silent plea for recognition beyond the puff of smoke it helped sell? It makes me think about the ephemerality of fame, even then. Editor: It's funny to think about how something designed to be discarded could end up in a museum, telling a bigger story about that time. I’ll think differently about marketing and portraiture from now on! Curator: Exactly. Sometimes, the smallest scraps of history hold the grandest narratives.