Miss Billy Barlow Dressed as Oriental Lady of the 18th Century, from the set Actors and Actresses, Second Series (N71) for Duke brand cigarettes 1888 - 1890

This is a trade card for Duke brand cigarettes, created by W. Duke, Sons & Co. sometime between 1870 and 1920. The composition is dominated by the central figure of Miss Billy Barlow, framed within a decorative border. Her attire, described as that of an "Oriental Lady of the 18th Century," is rendered with a mix of soft pastels and sharper, graphic details. The artist employs a semiotic strategy, using visual cues to construct a narrative around identity and representation. The 'oriental' costume—the star-adorned headpiece, the beaded jewelry—functions as signs, evoking a sense of exoticism. Yet, the actress's distinctly Western features introduce a level of ambiguity. The card destabilizes fixed notions of cultural identity, presenting it as a performance, a constructed image. The formal qualities of the image, in particular, the use of costume and pose, highlight the artificiality of representation, inviting us to consider the cultural codes at play.