Card Number 335, Annie Colley, from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-3) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Cross Cut Cigarettes 1880s

Editor: So, this is "Card Number 335, Annie Colley, from the Actors and Actresses series" from the 1880s, a print produced by W. Duke, Sons & Co. It's fascinating how something originally created as an advertisement, for Cross Cut Cigarettes no less, now resides in the Met! I’m really struck by the theatricality of the image; it feels like a freeze-frame from a lively dance. What strikes you most about this piece? Curator: For me, it's that dance between commerce and artistry, isn’t it? Here’s Annie Colley, probably caught mid-twirl. And the photo—it's sepia-toned, with an almost impressionistic softness—feels almost accidental! Can you see it? She looks like she's about to giggle—which just goes to show, sometimes the greatest art lies in its unassuming origins. That very ephemerality underscores its strange beauty, doesn’t it? It feels stolen from time. Editor: Stolen from time – I love that! I hadn't really thought about how casual she seemed; with that bit of advertisement text on the bottom. Does this say anything more about how actresses or performers were viewed back then? Curator: It throws everything into perspective, right? Annie, elevated to the level of fine art within the Met's walls! And she's still a cog in someone's business. We may think that the work, now in a museum, is a testament to Colley, herself -- but really shes just another advertisement in some boardroom for their cigarettes, haha! It makes one wonder how performers have managed to change how they're valued. And to what ends we give value in advertising! Food for thought. Editor: Definitely! I'll never look at old ads the same way again. Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts. Curator: My pleasure! It’s always illuminating to peer into those little cracks of history. Now, perhaps, for a cigarette...only joking, of course!