From the series "Sports Girls" (C190), issued by the American Cigarette Company, Ltd., Montreal, to promote Gloria Cigarettes 1885 - 1895

Curator: Let's delve into "From the series 'Sports Girls' (C190)," a promotional print issued by the American Cigarette Company between 1885 and 1895. What strikes you initially about this piece? Editor: My first impression is one of theatricality. There’s something almost performative about the subject’s stance, her costume. It speaks to the role of women as spectacles, even in leisure, and it makes me wonder what social norms are being reinforced, and simultaneously subverted, in the presentation of women in sports during this period. Curator: Absolutely. It's fascinating how the mechanics of commercial printing shaped representations of gender and class. Think about the production—these were mass-produced cards, distributed to encourage cigarette consumption. The lithographic process, combined with coloured pencils, made it possible to quickly and inexpensively generate these images for a widespread audience. We see Japonisme influencing the flat planes of color, impacting even this seemingly mundane item. Editor: It's compelling to think about the card’s life beyond its initial commercial function, moving to be part of collections such as the one here, at the Met. But returning to production: can we discuss the labour involved in creating these images? Were the artists credited, and who was the intended audience for these collectable cards of sporting women? I bet not the sportswomen! It exposes the exploitative dynamic within the art world and, here, the sports industry. Curator: A pertinent point. This labour, frequently overlooked, underlines the unequal power dynamics that drive both art production and capitalist expansion. This card would've found its way into the hands of primarily male consumers. These were intended as a 'value-add', to boost sales. What does that tell us about societal constructions of leisure, and masculinity during that time? Editor: I find the contrast between the subject’s confident pose and her objectification quite jarring, don't you? As though they could use "athleticism" as another signifier for desirability, reinforcing the very beauty standards these women’s physicality challenged. Curator: Precisely! It speaks volumes about how quickly commodification absorbs potentially subversive identities, neutering their challenge to the existing status quo, while driving commodity demand. This little card really encapsulates such complex ideas surrounding gender, consumerism, and the commodification of everything, really. Editor: It really does, doesn't it? It makes you think of how these echoes and contradictions from over a century ago still reverberate around how advertising operates in the media today.