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

This tiny paper photograph of M'lle Geraldine was mass-produced by W. Duke, Sons & Co. as a promotional insert for Duke Cigarettes. What we have here isn't high art, but something far more enmeshed with the day-to-day world of labor and commerce. The photograph is printed on thin, cheap paper, and the sepia tones give it an antique feel. This would have been made using industrial processes of photography and printing, churning out countless copies at minimal cost. It is a far cry from the meticulous labor of a hand-painted portrait. Instead, we see the aesthetics of mass production, where images become disposable commodities. This little card reminds us that images circulate in many ways. It challenges our assumptions about what art is, and the means through which we can understand it in its social context.