Card Number 355, Pauline Hall, from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-5) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Cameo Cigarettes 1880s

This sepia-toned lithograph, titled "Card Number 355, Pauline Hall," was created by W. Duke, Sons & Co. to promote Cameo Cigarettes. The composition invites us into a tableau of carefully arranged contrasts. Note the interplay between the rigid lines of the advertising text and the soft, curved pose of Pauline Hall, her gaze averted, lost in thought. The photograph is bisected by a clear distinction between the subject, Pauline Hall, and the commercial purpose of the card which presents a tension between art and industry. The female figure is presented as a commodity, an object of visual pleasure. In the broader historical context, the card operates as a sign within the semiotic system of advertising where images are used to create associations between products and desire. This tension is further complicated by the scale, where an intimate portrait is reduced to the dimensions of a cigarette card. This formal choice speaks to a culture of mass production and consumption.