Loraine Badger, from the Actors and Actresses series (N45, Type 1) for Virginia Brights Cigarettes 1885 - 1891

Curator: This is "Loraine Badger, from the Actors and Actresses series (N45, Type 1) for Virginia Brights Cigarettes." It's a photographic print dating from around 1885 to 1891. Editor: The faded sepia tone gives it a melancholic feel, doesn't it? Almost like a phantom image, the figure is centered against this dark backdrop, slightly blurred. Curator: These cards were incredibly popular; collectible portraits of actors and actresses, distributed with cigarette packs. They served both as advertising and miniature emblems of celebrity culture. Loraine Badger here strikes a particular pose. There's a studied innocence, hands gently at her waist, a sort of stage presence distilled. Editor: Exactly! You know, when you look at how small these are, considering the amount that must have been made and handled—think about the labor and material inputs involved—the photographic paper, the printing process, and of course, the tobacco leaves and manufacturing of the cigarettes themselves. The whole system sustained on these kinds of images. Curator: Absolutely, the mass production makes the figure somewhat generic and archetypal, but the dream and symbolism is rooted in something deeper—the yearning for escape, for a narrative, for fame that popular theater could evoke, reflected back through each collector's eyes. Notice that her outfit has these lovely frills or petals? The effect feels like she has emerged fully formed like a flower or nymph, but it is a costume, an image constructed. Editor: Right, it's interesting that you mention that image, given the intended disposal or collectability, what the consumers desired out of it or not; either tossing them aside after opening the pack or treasuring this portrait of fleeting fame tells its own tale of value judgments and the flow of material objects through society. Even today, such cards circulate. Curator: The subtle, almost spiritual qualities that radiate through time are often unexpected when thinking about a piece of advertising; that the symbolic meanings become much deeper when considering her own existence. She's not an idealized queen, and a very grounded depiction makes this work far more moving than a posed publicity photo, as this was captured more genuinely, an every-person. Editor: Very true. The history of materiality offers some intriguing perspectives. Thank you for a new view on this interesting portrait, that truly elevates it beyond the realm of just advertisement.