Kate Uart, Corsair Co., from the Actors and Actresses series (N45, Type 1) for Virginia Brights Cigarettes 1885 - 1891

Curator: This sepia-toned photograph, dating from the late 1880s to early 1890s, is from a series titled "Actors and Actresses" by Allen & Ginter, specifically "Kate Uart, Corsair Co." It was created as a promotional card for Virginia Brights Cigarettes. Editor: She strikes a powerful pose, doesn’t she? Very self-assured, almost challenging the viewer. It’s striking how such a small image can convey such presence. Curator: The world of theatre intersected with an expanding commercial market in interesting ways in this era. Consider this: this tiny card offered a fleeting glimpse into the glamorous world of the stage for a mass audience. It reflects both the rise of celebrity culture and the marketing tactics of the time. Editor: Absolutely. It also brings to mind the performativity of gender roles and identity, particularly for women at that time. She's playing a 'corsair,' a pirate, which allows for a certain transgression of expected female behavior. I wonder to what extent the character allowed her a space to move freely and to wield her own agency within patriarchal restraints. Curator: That's an interesting way to frame it. The popularity of actresses in advertising highlights how their images were circulated and consumed, really putting their private personas on display in conjunction with public performance in theatres, constructing powerful messages, albeit ones tightly controlled by industry forces. The card becomes a sort of democratized portrait, available to anyone purchasing cigarettes, a far cry from the elite painted portraiture of the past. Editor: But to circle back to your comment about control, look how confined her waistline seems. The restrictive corset she wears visually underscores the physical limitations placed on women then—even one seemingly as liberated as an actress playing a pirate, no? I feel there is an intriguing interplay between independence and containment visually embodied. Curator: Well, by looking at this image in its historical and cultural moment, the photograph serves as a compelling artifact reflecting social and economic forces. It certainly seems we’ve both viewed it under different, equally compelling lenses. Editor: Indeed, considering the cigarette card within the broad context of the late 19th-century gender politics adds nuance. It shows that seemingly simple commercial art holds many layers.