Fannie Adams, from the Actors and Actresses series (N45, Type 1) for Virginia Brights Cigarettes 1885 - 1891

Curator: What a sepia dream! "Fannie Adams," part of the Actors and Actresses series created between 1885 and 1891 by Allen & Ginter, captured as an albumen print. I found it lounging at the Met the other day. Editor: There's something ghostly and faded about her. Almost like a memory glimpsed through a fog. The limited tonal range amplifies that feeling. The sepia flattens it out. Curator: Right? These were actually cigarette cards, which blows my mind—the ultimate ephemera! This, like, gorgeous portrait of a stage star... nestled in a pack of smokes. Seems so transient. Like holding a secret. Editor: The albumen printing process would have provided a stunning clarity originally. Look at how precisely the details of her dress and that magnificent hat are rendered, despite the current state of the photograph. We see a tension between capturing a perfect representation versus it fading in memory. Curator: Her gaze is pretty direct too—I almost want to wink at her, like a conspirator. Makes me think of the backstage bustle, the smells, the glitter... everything just for that momentary burst of applause. Where does it all go? I mean really? Editor: Well, here we are examining it now, aren't we? But beyond that feeling... the composition has a clear structure. The subject's placement, the way the lines of her clothing create volume—it anchors the image while leaving that surrounding sepia to almost dissolve everything around her. Curator: Exactly! It’s a study in contrasts. Fleeting fame embalmed for Virginia Brights. Editor: It shows how beauty, like smoke, can both captivate and dissipate, leaving only a trace for us to analyze—and perhaps, just maybe, still adore.