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

This photograph of Mlle Berthier was printed by Goodwin & Company of New York as part of a series of promotional cards for Old Judge Cigarettes. At just a few inches across, it demonstrates how industrial printing techniques had permeated everyday life by the late 19th century. The sepia tones result from a chemical printing process, photolithography, which allowed for mass production. But the image of Mlle Berthier also reflects a social process. Here she is posed as a performer, which speaks to the rising status of actresses and other celebrities. The card’s main purpose was to advertise cigarettes. By distributing these cards, the company insinuated its product into the popular imagination, and promoted a lifestyle of fashionable leisure. It’s easy to overlook such a humble object, yet it reveals much about the workings of consumer culture, and the intertwined histories of art, industry, and labor.