Annie Boyd, from the Actors and Actresses series (N171) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1886 - 1890

This is Annie Boyd, from the Actors and Actresses series, a cigarette card printed by Goodwin & Company around the turn of the 20th century. This card is made of paper, treated with a light albumen print process, resulting in a sepia tone. These cards were cheap to produce and distributed widely to promote cigarette sales. The relatively new technology of photography made possible the mass production of images, which were then consumed on an unprecedented scale. Here, the labor is divided: a photographer captures the image, printers reproduce it, and factory workers insert the cards into cigarette packs. The image itself is of Annie Boyd, an actress, posed on an ornate chair. The photograph is staged, idealized, and designed to appeal to a mass audience, blurring the lines between art, entertainment, and advertising. It makes us think about the cultural significance of mass-produced images, and their role in shaping our perceptions and desires. It is a reminder that even seemingly trivial objects can tell us much about the relationship between art, industry, and society.