Card Number 618, Miss Kerkep, from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-3) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Cross Cut Cigarettes 1880s

Editor: Here we have a small card, dating back to the 1880s, titled "Card Number 618, Miss Kerkep," from the Actors and Actresses series, created by W. Duke, Sons & Co. as a cigarette advertisement. It features a photographic portrait of Miss Kerkep, rendered in a sepia tone. The detail is quite nice given the small scale. What jumps out at you when you see this? Curator: Well, for me, it's about the intersection of art, labor, and commerce. We have this image of Miss Kerkep, presumably an actress, but it’s really functioning as a tool for selling cigarettes. The means of production here are key; photography becoming democratized and industrialized allowed for mass production of these cards. Think about the labor involved – the photographers, the printers, the factory workers assembling these cards for insertion into cigarette packs. It obscures the boundary between "high art" – a portrait – and mass-produced ephemera. Editor: That's interesting, I hadn't considered it that way. So the *purpose* of this print, being a commercial tool, alters how we view it as a piece of art? Curator: Exactly! And consider the consumption aspect. These cards encouraged collecting, fostering brand loyalty. It’s about creating a desire, not just for cigarettes, but for a complete set. Were these ‘art objects’ really that different to any other object for sale? Where do we draw that distinction? The photographic material *is* the artwork, *and* the commodity itself. Editor: That’s a good point, I guess this makes me think about how many everyday objects could be considered art through this perspective. Curator: Precisely! And questioning such boundaries enriches our understanding of art’s social role and materiality, what the materials mean themselves, and the cultural messages that those materials send to viewers and consumers. Editor: That's fascinating; I'll definitely be looking at art – and advertisements – differently now!