Card Number 22, Lotta, from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-6) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Duke Cigarettes 1880s

Editor: This is "Card Number 22, Lotta" from the Actors and Actresses series, an albumen print from the 1880s, by W. Duke, Sons & Co. I’m immediately struck by the…ordinariness of it? It’s trying to be alluring, with the glimpse of Lotta behind the screen, but it feels a little awkward. What do you see in this piece? Curator: Ah, “Lotta.” These cards, distributed with Duke Cigarettes, are more than simple advertisements; they’re potent carriers of cultural memory. What do you think "Lotta," likely a popular actress, signifies in this image? Editor: Hmm, besides selling cigarettes? I guess she represents entertainment, maybe a touch of glamour associated with the stage. It feels… performative, a posed intimacy. Curator: Precisely! And how does that performance interact with the symbolism present? Notice the screen – a barrier, yet also an invitation. The veil she clutches further complicates the narrative; concealment and revelation coexisting. What emotions do these symbols evoke in you? Editor: I get a sense of fleeting fame, of manufactured celebrity. The screen feels almost like she is boxed-in. Curator: Indeed. Consider also the ephemeral nature of these cards. Discarded after the cigarettes were consumed, yet now preserved. They hint at a longing, and the ephemeral nature of desire and aspiration that even cigarettes hope to momentarily embody. Even now, the "best" of cigarettes seem to hope for lasting connection. Editor: That makes me think about how celebrities are used today. We create and consume images just as quickly, hoping for connection, maybe a modern form of longing. Curator: Exactly. And through this image, and Lotta’s pose, a century of performance, advertisement, longing and the cultural obsession with celebrity connects. Editor: I hadn't thought of that. Thanks so much. This image now tells a bigger story.