Card Number 122, Ada Richmond, from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-2) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Cross Cut Cigarettes 1880s

"Card Number 122, Ada Richmond" was produced by W. Duke, Sons & Co. around the turn of the 20th century as part of a series of promotional materials for Cross Cut Cigarettes. The card, part of a larger set portraying actors and actresses, offers a window into the cultural landscape of the time. During this period of burgeoning consumer culture, the representation of women in advertising was fraught with contradictions. While women like Ada Richmond enjoyed a certain level of public recognition and fame through their stage careers, their images were often used to market products that reinforced traditional gender roles and expectations. This card exemplifies the commodification of female identity, reducing Richmond to a mere symbol for selling cigarettes. The gaze is complicated, here, by the fact that Richmond was in the performance industry; her image and body were, in a way, already part of a public spectacle. These cards both capitalized on and propelled the cult of celebrity, even as they participated in a larger system of exploitation. The image leaves us to consider the complex interplay between visibility, agency, and objectification in the context of early advertising and popular culture.