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

This card featuring Mlle. Tamzap comes from a series of actors and actresses produced by W. Duke, Sons & Co. to promote Duke Cigarettes in the late 19th century. These cards were designed to be collected and traded, tapping into the burgeoning culture of celebrity and consumerism. By associating their product with popular performers, Duke Cigarettes aimed to create a desirable image around their brand. The economics of tobacco in the US South, where Duke was based, and the burgeoning national economy, made possible this sort of mass-produced imagery. The use of popular actresses also speaks to the way women were beginning to enter the public sphere. The sepia-toned photograph of Mlle. Tamzap, with its carefully posed composition and elegant typography, speaks to the growing sophistication of advertising in this period. To understand the context surrounding such an image, we can investigate the history of advertising, popular culture, and the tobacco industry in the late 19th century.