Card 753, Irene Verona, from the Actors and Actresses series (N45, Type 2) for Virginia Brights Cigarettes 1885 - 1891

This card portraying Irene Verona was made by Allen and Ginter as part of a series of actors and actresses, meant to be included in packs of Virginia Brights Cigarettes. The card is a photograph, printed in sepia tones. These cards were made for the express purpose of being collected, a kind of early form of mass-produced ephemera. Although small, the photograph would have required a whole chain of labor to produce: from the growing and harvesting of tobacco, to the manufacturing of cigarettes, to the work of photographers and printers who created these cards. And finally, of course, the labor of the actress herself, who would have agreed to pose for the picture, for a fee. Today, we might think of this card as a curious relic of a bygone era. But in its time, it would have been a sign of modernity, and of how mass production and consumption were transforming social life. It also suggests how the culture of celebrity was being shaped by the demands of mass media and the rise of consumerism.