Actress wearing tall structured hat with striped ribbon, from Stars of the Stage, Third Series (N131) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Honest Long Cut Tobacco 1891 - 1892

Curator: Right now, we're looking at a trade card, "Actress wearing tall structured hat with striped ribbon," from the "Stars of the Stage" series made by W. Duke, Sons & Co. around 1891-1892. It’s a promotional piece for their "Honest Long Cut Tobacco," a collotype print highlighting a stage actress. Editor: It has an interesting sort of faded glamor about it, doesn’t it? I find myself drawn to the somewhat rigid and serious face framed by the enormous hat! Is that hat a caricature of fashion itself? Curator: Well, trade cards of the era were meant to catch the eye and promote a product. The actress's hat and clothing are highly stylized; her expression serious to perhaps convey a sense of dignity and sophistication associated with the product. She becomes an emblem of aspirational consumption. Editor: I suppose I see it through modern eyes and interpret it with a sense of humor. All those frills for a smoke. There's almost a wink there in the card itself...or is that my projection? Curator: Perhaps a bit of both! But also consider the printmaking technique of the time; collotype allowed for subtle tonal variations which created near photographic likeness in mass-produced images. This created wide accessibility and desirability through consumer culture. The textures conveyed were signs that helped to signify class. Editor: It feels odd viewing it now in a museum, divorced from its intended use. Its very existence speaks to how desires are manufactured, and the role advertising plays in creating and reinforcing identities and status. I’m amused that something as seemingly frivolous could be charged with such an analysis. Curator: And therein lies the delightful paradox of art, wouldn’t you agree? Editor: Indeed! Even the most blatant marketing can morph into something to inspire us beyond commerce! It makes one contemplate how current advertisements will be perceived 100 years from now.