Annie Lewis, from the Actresses series (N245) issued by Kinney Brothers to promote Sweet Caporal Cigarettes 1890

Curator: This is a fascinating little print, isn't it? "Annie Lewis, from the Actresses series," produced by Kinney Brothers to promote Sweet Caporal Cigarettes, dating back to 1890. It’s an albumen print. Editor: Yes, it’s interesting to think about how these little images circulated. It feels almost like a proto-Instagram ad, this actress used to sell cigarettes. How should we be thinking about it? Curator: Exactly! Consider the materiality: an albumen print, which was relatively inexpensive and easily reproduced at the time, made this kind of mass dissemination possible. This photograph wasn't just about art; it was a product of industrial processes, using photography to create images that existed purely for consumption. Note, too, how this blends high art and commerce in a way that subverts traditional distinctions: portraiture to move product. Editor: So you’re saying its value comes less from artistic intention and more from how it functions within the consumer culture of the time? Curator: Precisely. Look at her costume—mass-produced and reflecting the performative aspects of femininity marketable through mass media. We need to understand this image not just as a portrait, but as a commodity produced through distinct and understandable industrial processes. How would such photographs been consumed, literally and figuratively? And by whom? Editor: I never really thought about how the physical object plays such a big role. It's less about the artist's vision and more about this convergence of industry, representation, and commerce? Curator: Absolutely. It’s a lens into understanding the late 19th-century economy, not as art isolated in some rarified world, but as integral to the world around it. This print makes us consider value very differently. Editor: Okay, that changes everything for me. Now, I will see advertisements everywhere. Curator: Hopefully you also will be thinking about production and consumption of all materials, from dresses to portraits!