Carrie Behr, Corsair Co., from the Actors and Actresses series (N45, Type 1) for Virginia Brights Cigarettes 1885 - 1891

Curator: What we're looking at here is one of the "Actors and Actresses" series, specifically "Carrie Behr, Corsair Co.," part of a promotional set of cards for Virginia Brights Cigarettes, likely from the late 1880s. Editor: My initial thought is about the photograph's formal qualities. There’s a subdued tonality to this image, which is typical of photography from that era. The composition is rather standard, with the focus on Behr’s face and upper body, and an exquisite amount of ornamental lace, don't you agree? Curator: Absolutely. And we should consider the production and consumption context. These cards were essentially trade cards inserted into cigarette packs. Allen & Ginter, the producers, used chromolithography, and other methods, to create these collectible cards, leveraging popular figures to promote their product, cigarettes. The cards became quite popular—they were small commodities exchanged and collected by consumers. Editor: I see that and will propose we unpack the subject's gaze, it's averted to the right, and I suggest that gives a certain contemplative quality to the portrait, as though she’s lost in thought or perhaps subtly hinting at a world beyond the immediate frame of performance and public life. Curator: Good observation. But remember these images were mass-produced. The choice to feature Carrie Behr from the Corsair Co., tells us about which performers were perceived to have selling power, appealing to a particular consumer base who might associate theatre culture with the aspirational lifestyle that tobacco companies sought to associate with their products. It’s less about Behr as an individual and more about her market value as a representative of that lifestyle. Editor: Even given those elements of production for the mass market, it still seems as though Allen and Ginter gave the portrait a more sophisticated design compared to typical publicity shots. Take, for example, that complex use of light that almost brings the rose ornament to life on Behr's chest. It might draw consumers to Virginia Bright's by suggesting the brand values sophistication, not just accessibility, I feel? Curator: A definite consideration. And speaking to materiality, such cards provided small glimpses of refinement and popular culture accessible for everyone, and I do like how your Formalist ideas enrich understanding and inform the image overall. Editor: Exactly, while understanding the social and material aspects gives deeper meaning to my visual interpretations, allowing me a new lens for consideration and the complex composition.