Miriam Coles, from the Actors and Actresses series (N45, Type 1) for Virginia Brights Cigarettes 1885 - 1891

This card featuring actress Miriam Coles was produced by Allen & Ginter for Virginia Brights Cigarettes. The image is a photograph, printed on paper. While photography is now ubiquitous, in the late 19th century it still held some of the aura of fine art. Yet here, it is inextricably linked to commerce, existing as a collectible item packaged with cigarettes. Note the intense labor that went into cigarette production at this time. Tobacco leaves, harvested and cured, then processed and rolled, largely by hand. The cards, printed in bulk, provided an added incentive for consumers. Consider the contrast: Coles, an actress, embodying glamour, versus the likely working-class consumers of the cigarettes. The card collapses these social worlds, as fine art, theater, and manual labor all come together. It’s a reminder that even seemingly disposable objects have complex stories to tell.