Card Number 308, Ireen Bickford, from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-3) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Cross Cut Cigarettes 1880s

Curator: It's a small, sepia-toned photograph—card number 308 from the Actors and Actresses series, part of an advertisement for Cross Cut Cigarettes produced by W. Duke, Sons & Co. in the 1880s. It features actress Ireen Bickford. Editor: There's something undeniably intimate about it. The slightly blurred focus lends the image a dreamy, almost melancholic feel, despite the promotional nature of it. Curator: The Duke company produced these as trade cards, including them in packs of cigarettes. These cards were immensely popular; their circulation provided a kind of proto-mass media fame for these actors. In terms of the symbolism here, we see a clear connection to an emerging celebrity culture tied directly to consumerism. Editor: That’s right. The subject matter being an actress connects it strongly to themes of transformation and make-believe. And if you think about cigarettes, they were about escapism, performance of ritual, adulthood, social posturing. There’s almost an element of a pagan idol on the table nearby! Curator: Yes, absolutely. The card provided both an advertisement and collectible "artifact". It circulated images, creating idealized portraits available to all, as though you, too, could reach that level of fame or fortune simply by purchasing a product. And consider this also: by using an actress, Duke plays upon ideas of manufactured persona and idealized identity that still ring true today. Editor: And it works so well by capitalizing on existing visual archetypes: the stage star, the domestic goddess. But the connection of femininity, stage performance and the alluring cigarette make a potent symbolic recipe. Curator: Indeed. Examining objects like these trading cards helps to understand the complex intertwining of performance, desire, and the social aspirations of the period, packaged conveniently with your tobacco product. Editor: A fascinating example of a functional object elevated by the cultural narratives it carries.