Mlle. Delarme, from the Actors and Actresses series (N45, Type 8) for Virginia Brights Cigarettes 1885 - 1891

Curator: Looking at this faded image, there’s a quiet stillness about it. Editor: Let's take a closer look at "Mlle. Delarme," part of the Actors and Actresses series created by Allen & Ginter between 1885 and 1891. These were included in Virginia Brights Cigarettes packs. What is catching your attention? Curator: The fact that it was a promotional item gives me pause; photography used as commercial fodder… were these hand-tipped? It feels different from a fine art portrait. What were the printing methods and material substrates used for its mass production? I also think the fragility speaks volumes about consumption, celebrity culture, and disposability, and how quickly it has aged given the original intent was throwaway. Editor: Exactly. It presents this idea of celebrity image commodification and challenges us to consider the performance aspect deeply rooted in portraiture itself. Her languid pose… is it genuine weariness or part of the character? Given this was intended for the male gaze through cigarette packaging, could we say she's reclining into that assumed posture, that archetype of feminine delicacy expected of actresses in her time? Curator: You are correct, the staging does not exist in a void. Let's think more critically. Who gets represented? This series mostly highlighted white actors, contributing to a cultural landscape with profound implications, so its creation and circulation is part of larger power structures. And to me, the photographic process highlights that labor component even more so because her image has been so heavily circulated. The value is embedded in mass-making, which changes its inherent perception. Editor: Absolutely. Looking at the history, tobacco consumption and advertising were linked to imperial power, male privilege and even social rituals. Placing the portraits of these actresses into that specific cultural context brings forward questions about gender and performance during this epoch, while simultaneously making us reflect on the female objectification embedded in advertisement and commercial practice then and now. Curator: I now have a much better grasp of the nuanced tension held within it, considering the convergence of mass manufacturing and artistic expression! Editor: Thinking about it within these critical paradigms highlights how the representation of identity intertwines with broader histories around power, and hopefully encourages listeners to think more actively about how they engage with the circulation of visual content today.