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

Curator: Hello, and welcome. We’re standing before a portrait from around 1890-1895, titled "Minnie Seligman, from the Actors and Actresses series." It was created by W. Duke, Sons & Co. as a promotional piece for Duke Cigarettes. What are your initial impressions? Editor: It has an old-timey, almost ghostly, charm, don’t you think? The sepia tone gives it such a lovely feeling of faded grandeur. It reminds me of a rainy afternoon spent sifting through forgotten family albums. Curator: That's a great reading. Indeed, the limited palette creates a cohesive surface, a soft atmospheric unity across the subject, dress, and implied setting. It's a photographic print, part of a larger series intended to boost the popularity of a tobacco brand using images of recognizable personalities. Editor: And doesn’t she have a remarkable presence? Look at how her corset mimics the lines of classic Greek columns... She almost carries herself like a sculpture, rigid but still warm and inviting. Curator: Yes! The structural elements of the image do a great deal to both define and frame Minnie. Consider, though, the framing and implied depth… How would you interpret her position against the ornate, indistinct background? Editor: I would argue that she’s trapped, somehow, maybe typecast. I wonder if it felt liberating, restrictive, or just plain bizarre to be a face shilling for cigarettes. Curator: That is a valid point. I can appreciate how it allows the viewer to connect with a tangible moment and to think through what the relationship between commercial representation and female agency was during that time. It is always useful to be reminded that looking can be so often layered with many possibilities. Editor: Absolutely, and this print, in its own way, gives an intimate glimpse of that story. The image will stay with me, for sure. Curator: Thank you for these observations, very interesting thoughts.