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

Curator: What strikes me immediately is this ethereal quality. She seems almost to be floating. Editor: Indeed. What we're looking at is a print dating from about 1890 to 1895, "Hilda Hollins, from the Actors and Actresses series," issued by W. Duke, Sons & Co. to promote their Duke Cigarettes. It's currently held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The photographic medium and delicate drawing style combine to create that dreamy effect you've noticed. Curator: It feels like a captured dream, now that you mention the dreamy effect. And the actress seems poised between worlds, not quite solid. She is almost angelic, if not for the commercial tie-in, which reminds you of the grittiness of earthly existence! Editor: It's a curious blend, isn't it? The actress herself is staged in a very classical pose, almost like a goddess, her garment is diaphanous and theatrical. This evokes an older style, harking back to the Romantic era with a touch of classical Greek sculpture. However, the intent was pure commercial appeal, as she's being used to promote tobacco. Curator: So, on the one hand, we have an image of refined grace and idealized beauty. But the work also serves as a marketing tool, linking the image to everyday consumption and pleasure—smoking. I would not dare smoking those cigarette, if the aim was becoming an ethereal actress like Hilda! Editor: Precisely. Tobacco cards like these became popular precisely for how they could turn everyday mundane actions, such as opening a packet of cigarettes, into interactions with art and celebrity. I like to think about the memory this artwork triggers: how celebrity endorsements create the persona of smoking those cigarette back in time. Curator: It really illustrates the power of visual culture and mass production in shaping desires and social meanings. That's a strange kind of alchemy, isn’t it? What this image transmits through the decades feels so modern after all! Editor: Indeed, and the dialogue between illusion and reality remains relevant today.