Little Ollie, from World's Beauties, Series 2 (N27) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes 1888

Editor: So this is "Little Ollie," a print from 1888, part of the "World's Beauties" series by Allen & Ginter Cigarettes. It's done in colored pencil, and there’s almost a… caricatured feel to the portrait, even though it's supposedly of a beautiful person. What do you see in it? Curator: I see the echoes of ritual and performance embedded in the image of Little Ollie. Notice her upward gaze? It evokes a sense of longing, or perhaps expectation, like a figure in a Byzantine icon waiting for divine intervention. The jewelry isn't merely decorative; it resembles talismans, symbols of protection or perhaps a rite of passage. Editor: Rite of passage? Because it was a cigarette card? Curator: Exactly. In a way, isn't the act of collecting itself a kind of ritual? Think about the collecting frenzy, the desire to possess these "beauties." What stories did these images trigger in people's minds back then? And how do those stories compare with our readings of it today? It also feels as though this character represents some ancient goddess, and by obtaining the card you have ownership of her. Editor: That’s a good point. It makes you wonder about how consumer culture intersects with cultural memory and iconography. Curator: Precisely! Even the name "Little Ollie" feels carefully chosen, designed to appeal to very particular sentiments that continue on even now. Perhaps we see reflected our own ideals of beauty, success, status, and maybe even innocence. Editor: It definitely offers a glimpse into how beauty, culture, and consumerism were intertwined way back then. Curator: And still are now! The symbols shift, but their resonance remains.