Miss Van Oasten, from the Actresses series (N203) issued by Wm. S. Kimball & Co. 1889

This small card was made by the Wm. S. Kimball & Co., a cigarette company. It’s a photograph, mass-produced and printed on paper. Cards like this were essentially advertisements, tucked into cigarette packs to stiffen them and entice consumers. In this case, the image is of "Miss Van Oasten" from the Actresses series, capitalizing on the fame and beauty of performers to sell tobacco. The material reality of this image is key, it’s not fine art, but ephemera, designed for mass consumption. Consider the labor involved: from the photographers and printers, to the workers in the tobacco fields and factories, all contributing to this small artifact. The company traded on the glamour of celebrity culture, with this image being made using industrial processes and circulated as part of the capitalist system. We can appreciate this humble card not just as a historical artifact, but as a reminder of the complex relationship between art, commerce, and labor.