Mrs. Brown Potter, from the Actors and Actresses series (N45, Type 1) for Virginia Brights Cigarettes 1885 - 1891

Editor: This is "Mrs. Brown Potter, from the Actors and Actresses series" by Allen & Ginter, a cigarette card from between 1885 and 1891, held at the Met. It's just a little sepia print, but what strikes me is how it transforms a celebrity portrait into a form of advertisement. What do you see when you look at this? Curator: I see a convergence of seemingly disparate elements: celebrity culture, consumerism, and printmaking techniques. It's not simply a portrait; it's a manufactured object designed for mass consumption, a tiny rectangle made valuable by its content and function. What labor went into creating this object? What processes transformed an image of Mrs. Potter into a desirable, tradeable item associated with Virginia Brights Cigarettes? Editor: So, you're less interested in Mrs. Potter herself, and more in the card as a… commodity? Curator: Precisely. The photograph has been reproduced using specific printing technologies, chosen perhaps for their cost-effectiveness and suitability for mass production. The card’s materiality—the paper stock, the ink—speaks volumes about the priorities of the manufacturer. The Virginia Brights Cigarettes branding, plastered across the bottom, subordinates Mrs. Potter's image to the task of selling tobacco. What were the printing runs like, what were they made of? Were the inks produced using a variety of techniques, making some rarer than others? Editor: That's fascinating. I hadn't considered how much the object itself tells us about its purpose. I guess I was focused on it as an image, and not an object. Curator: The cigarette card transcends conventional portraiture; it's a microcosm of late 19th-century industrial capitalism. It exposes the fusion of art, industry, and the burgeoning culture of celebrity, reflecting shifts in how images were produced, circulated, and consumed. Think about this format's long and fascinating evolution and distribution history! Editor: I will. Thanks! It makes me think about the supply chains that underpin even small artworks. Curator: Absolutely, an important aspect when viewing art today. Thanks for making me reconsider my habits!