From the Actors and Actresses series (N171) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1886 - 1890

This card, made by Goodwin & Company for Old Judge Cigarettes, is a small paper print, one of a collectible series inserted into cigarette packs. Consider the material, though: thin card stock, mass-produced through photographic and printing techniques. These were not traditional art materials, but rather, products of industrial processes, churned out at a scale unimaginable before the late 19th century. The image itself – an actress in costume – speaks to the rise of celebrity culture and the commodification of entertainment. The card's inherent qualities – its size, its disposability, its reproductive nature – reflect the burgeoning consumer culture of the time. It was made to be collected, traded, and ultimately, consumed along with the cigarettes it advertised. The amount of work that went into the entire process– from photographing the actress, to printing and distributing the cards – highlights the interconnectedness of labor, politics, and consumption in a rapidly industrializing society. This challenges the traditional boundaries of art, and encourages us to consider the social and economic forces that shape our understanding of value and aesthetics.