Mlle. Ben Sai, from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-8) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Duke Cigarettes 1890 - 1895

This card featuring Mlle. Ben Sai was produced around the turn of the 20th century by W. Duke, Sons & Co., as part of a series of promotional cards for Duke Cigarettes. These small cards, made with a photomechanical printing process, were designed for mass production and distribution. The company employed the latest industrial techniques to reproduce images quickly and cheaply, and would have required workers in multiple roles, from photographers, to machine operators, to distributors. The sepia tones and smooth surface belie this industrial origin, but it's important to remember that this image would have been widely available, tucked into packs of cigarettes. What seems like a simple portrait was thus part of a much larger system of labor, advertising, and consumption. It reflects the social and economic forces at play during a period of rapid industrialization, blurring the lines between art, commerce, and popular culture. We see the value and power of 'craft' is in the act of making itself.