Mlle. Carbagnatti, Paris, from the Actors and Actresses series (N171) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1886 - 1890

Editor: This is an interesting artifact – it's a small portrait card from the late 1880s, part of a series called "Actors and Actresses" by Goodwin & Company to promote Old Judge Cigarettes. The image features Mlle. Carbagnatti, a Parisian performer. It has an old sepia tone look about it and, honestly, strikes me as kind of quirky. What leaps out at you? Curator: Quirky is the perfect word! It's like stumbling upon a secret glimpse into another world. What gets me is the audacity of it all. Imagine, condensing artistry into a tiny rectangle designed to sell cigarettes. It feels like a glorious collision of high and low culture, doesn't it? Look at the performative gesture, the extravagant costume… It's theatre crammed into your pocket. It reminds me of finding hidden magic in the mundane. It begs the question, doesn't it? What story is she trying to tell with that pose? What’s she trying to communicate? Editor: I suppose she is advertising… sort of? And I guess this portrait card may have been the only “accessible” image regular people would be exposed to in this era? Curator: Precisely! In a world without instant images, these cards were windows. Mlle. Carbagnatti wasn’t just selling cigarettes; she was selling a lifestyle, a fantasy. Each card, was an opportunity for people to peek behind the velvet curtains of Parisian theatre and bring a little glamour into their lives, wouldn’t you say? Editor: So, a mini-portal to another world in a cigarette pack! I never thought of it that way. I guess art really can show up anywhere. Curator: Exactly. It winks at you from the most unexpected places. And isn't that delightful?