Card 830, Emma Carson, from the Actors and Actresses series (N45, Type 2) for Virginia Brights Cigarettes 1885 - 1891

Editor: This is a trading card from sometime between 1885 and 1891 featuring Emma Carson, an actress. It was produced by Allen & Ginter for Virginia Brights Cigarettes, and it’s a photographic print, I believe. It seems odd to use her image to advertise cigarettes. What connections can we make between that era’s theater world and the public perception and glamorization of cigarettes? Curator: That's a fantastic entry point. What’s interesting is the cultural role of actresses at the time. They were figures of desire but also subject to moral scrutiny. So, framing Emma Carson through the lens of advertising, specifically associating her image with cigarettes, can be seen as a calculated move. Consider how such imagery impacted women's burgeoning entry into public life and economic independence, particularly their access to and normalization of potentially harmful products. Editor: So you’re saying the use of her image not only glamorized smoking but also subtly linked it with female empowerment and liberation at a time when women were fighting for more rights? Curator: Precisely. How complicit do you think Emma Carson and Allen & Ginter might have been? Whose interests are truly being served in the design of these tobacco cards, and whose are subjugated to that desire? Editor: That’s a troubling question. The card feels so…simple. Curator: The simplicity is deceptive. Think about who consumed these images, what narratives they reinforced, and how those narratives played into the broader social and political landscape of the late 19th century. Were they also subtly trying to assert that Virginia cigarettes are indeed bright through the radiant light of Ms. Carson? Editor: I hadn’t considered how loaded such a seemingly innocuous image could be. There is so much encoded sexism at work in this innocent, little card. It is kind of amazing that a woman actor had this notoriety but was ultimately selling a deadly product to a predominantly male audience. Curator: It prompts us to interrogate how representations of women are mobilized for commercial purposes, and to recognize that the echoes of this continue in our own time. There’s so much at play when you really dive in and see it through a more critical eye. Editor: This makes me want to analyze more carefully other cultural images I come across. There may be very different, hidden agendas! Thanks!