Miss Sarma, from the Actresses series (N245) issued by Kinney Brothers to promote Sweet Caporal Cigarettes 1890

Editor: This is "Miss Sarma" from the Actresses series, created around 1890 by the Kinney Brothers to advertise Sweet Caporal Cigarettes. It seems to be a photographic print, a small, almost card-like image. I'm intrigued by the figure's slightly masculine presentation – short hair, a rope, and sailor-like clothing, yet wearing delicate shoes. What’s your take on it? Curator: It's a fascinating piece of cultural ephemera. The "Actresses" series highlights how women were marketed through and integrated into the rising tobacco industry. What appears initially to be a "masculine" presentation is complex. This kind of "gender bending" in theatrical performance was increasingly visible and palatable in a quickly changing cultural climate. Consider the simultaneous commodification and exoticizing of female figures to promote consumption. Does that frame what we're looking at a little differently? Editor: Definitely. It becomes more about using a figure to appeal to certain consumers. So, the attire wasn't necessarily about making a statement on gender, but about constructing a marketable persona within a specific socio-economic and advertising landscape? Curator: Precisely. It speaks to how performative identity becomes and how societal norms could be strategically employed—and perhaps even stretched—to generate commercial value. Editor: Wow, it’s fascinating to consider the layered meanings packed into such a small card. It’s much more complex than I initially thought. I didn't appreciate how commercial and social dynamics worked together to create this imagery. Curator: Right? And it’s a window into understanding what was circulating culturally. Each card represents choices on behalf of the institution of who/what should be represented to their buying consumers.