Card Number 38, Miss Bell, from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-1) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Cross Cut Cigarettes 1880s

Editor: Here we have "Card Number 38, Miss Bell," a promotional print for Cross Cut Cigarettes from the 1880s. It's fascinating how photography was used for advertising even then. What can you tell me about this photograph? Curator: What I see here is a potent example of the intersections of gender, labor, and capital in the late 19th century. Miss Bell, likely an actress, is presented as an object of desire to sell cigarettes, a product tied to emerging consumer culture. How does her representation resonate with, or diverge from, other images of women circulating at the time? Editor: Well, she is in a classically-inspired draped dress, striking a refined pose that feels very deliberate. Is that choice purely aesthetic, or does it have other implications? Curator: It is carefully staged, designed to invoke notions of beauty, virtue, even antiquity. The image taps into cultural capital, attempting to elevate the product by association. But let’s not overlook the economics at play: Miss Bell’s image is being commodified to drive sales. What do you think that says about the agency she had? Or lacked? Editor: I never considered the labor implications here. So, we have the commodification of the actress's image within the broader context of Victorian-era commercialism. I will never look at advertising the same way again. Curator: Exactly! By looking at it through this lens, we understand not just what the image *is*, but also *what it does* within society.