Pauline Hall, from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-8) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Duke Cigarettes 1890 - 1895

This is a photograph of Pauline Hall, made around 1900 by W. Duke, Sons & Co. as a promotional card for Duke Cigarettes. It's made using photographic techniques of the era, printed on thin card stock. What interests me is how a portrait can be made into a commodity. The image of Pauline Hall, an actress, wasn't made for artistic purposes. Instead, it was intended to be collected and traded by smokers, like baseball cards today. The material of the card itself also speaks to a wider social context. It was cheap to produce, as it was printed in vast quantities for advertising. This reflects the rise of mass production and consumer culture at the turn of the century. These cards blur the line between art and commerce. Thinking about materials, making, and context helps us to understand the full picture. We begin to challenge the traditional art boundaries.