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

Curator: Here we have "Bessie Cleveland," a trade card portrait from the Actors and Actresses series, created between 1890 and 1895 by W. Duke, Sons & Co. to promote their Duke Cigarettes. Editor: The sepia tone lends it an antique feel, and that rather large hat laden with what appears to be fruit or berries—it's quite striking, isn't it? Very theatrical! Curator: Absolutely. It’s intriguing how tobacco companies embraced mass-produced imagery. This particular piece, given its serial nature, sheds light on the rise of consumer culture and the marketing strategies of the late 19th century. Think of the paper it's printed on, the inks used, and the machinery required to churn these out on such a scale. Editor: Though let’s consider, as well, the compositional choices within that standardized format. Notice the subtle contrast—the interplay of light and shadow. It focuses our attention on Cleveland’s face. It really does adhere to the codes of portraiture we find elevated elsewhere, just deployed on a smaller scale, for commercial ends. Curator: Precisely. And it's interesting to note the Japonisme influence evident in the flat perspective and stylized presentation of the subject. We can read it as part of a wider dialogue in the material culture of the era: a product embedded with artistic trends, aimed toward expanding the marketplace for Duke Cigarettes. The value wasn't merely in the likeness but in the cultural associations being marketed. Editor: An accessible icon. While the process is clearly important, the resulting image remains a constructed surface—Bessie Cleveland, a figure intended to entice and sell, immortalized with sepia and striking, carefully chosen lighting. The fruits, the light… they are meant to please. Curator: A fascinating collision of art and commerce that says so much about the industrial processes and marketing machinery that shaped turn-of-the-century society. Editor: It definitely encapsulates the performative nature of celebrity—then and now, packaged for consumption. It all shines with calculation, no pun intended!