Card Number 172, Alice Gordon, from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-2) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Cross Cut Cigarettes 1880s

This is a promotional card for Cross Cut Cigarettes, featuring actress Alice Gordon, created around 1888 by W. Duke, Sons & Co. Note the theatrical costume, rich with sartorial signifiers of power. The braiding and high boots are hallmarks of military or aristocratic dress, designed to convey authority and status. But consider how these emblems are repurposed. Historically, military regalia evokes images of conquest and control. Yet here, these symbols are donned by an actress, a figure of performance and transformation, in a space far removed from the battlefield. We see echoes of this cross-dressing and playful appropriation in earlier carnivals and masquerades, where social hierarchies were temporarily inverted. This practice extends back to ancient festivals, like the Roman Saturnalia, where societal norms were playfully upended. The emotional draw of such inversions lies in their challenge to established power structures, a subconscious yearning for liberation from constraints. Symbols don't remain fixed. They morph, adapt, and resurface, carrying echoes of past meanings while reflecting contemporary desires and anxieties.