Card 401, Esmerelda, from the Actors and Actresses series (N45, Type 1) for Virginia Brights Cigarettes 1885 - 1891

This card, titled "Card 401, Esmerelda", was created as part of the Actors and Actresses series for Virginia Brights Cigarettes by Allen & Ginter. The sepia-toned card presents a full-length portrait where the actress’s costume is highly ornamental, obscuring her form with layers of ruffles, flowers, and feathers. This visual emphasis on costume over anatomy deconstructs traditional portraiture, and shifts focus away from the individual towards the constructed image, or artifice. The textures created by the elaborate dress are a network of signs; each element signifies aspects of beauty, status and performance. The image explores the semiotics of celebrity, reducing the actress to a set of visual cues. The effect challenges the viewer to look beyond the surface, questioning the relationship between representation and reality. Ultimately, the image functions as a complex interplay between the material presence of the card and its symbolic weight, inviting ongoing analysis and interpretation.