Card Number 375, Miss Jarbeau, from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-5) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Cameo Cigarettes 1880s

This small card was produced by W. Duke, Sons & Co. around 1888 as a promotional item for Cameo Cigarettes. Part of a series of actors and actresses, it depicts Miss Jarbeau in theatrical costume. These cards were designed to be collected, traded, and kept, which speaks to the rising culture of mass consumerism in the United States at the time. Tobacco companies became major players in advertising and these cards, inserted into cigarette packs, were a clever marketing strategy. The image itself offers insight into the culture of performance and celebrity. Miss Jarbeau’s confident pose and engaging gaze reflect the growing popularity of actresses as public figures. It also shows the commodification of the human form for the purposes of selling a product. Examining historical archives, census records, and theater ephemera allows us to understand the place of this image in its original context. We begin to appreciate the complex relationship between art, commerce, and society.