Sadie Cortelyou, from the Actors and Actresses series (N45, Type 1) for Virginia Brights Cigarettes 1885 - 1891

Editor: Here we have "Sadie Cortelyou, from the Actors and Actresses series (N45, Type 1) for Virginia Brights Cigarettes," an albumen print from somewhere between 1885 and 1891, held at the Met. There’s something so languid about her pose… she looks almost bored, but also alluring. What do you see when you look at this piece? Curator: Alluring boredom, you say? Precisely! I think what strikes me first is the peculiar marriage of commerce and... well, *yearning*. Here’s Sadie, caught in a pose halfway between reclining odalisque and mischievous schoolgirl, hawking cigarettes. It’s less about high art and more about that intoxicating mix of desire and aspiration they’re selling. Editor: Aspiration, in a cigarette ad? Curator: Oh, absolutely! Back then, these cards were tiny windows into a glamorous world – theater, beautiful women, a hint of scandal. Buying the cigarettes was buying a tiny piece of that fantasy. It's funny, isn't it? Smoke dreams, quite literally. Do you get a sense of the male gaze here, too? Editor: I do, actually. It’s subtle but definitely there in how she’s positioned and how her eyes meet yours, but in the most modest way! Like a little dance of visibility and availability. Curator: It *is* a dance! A carefully choreographed performance. A lot is revealed through pose and production, but, honestly, so much is kept hidden in this little picture, too. The cigarette acts as more than product placement—a token or promise. It is amazing the statements conveyed through a printed photograph and advertisement of a performer and product, no? Editor: I agree. Seeing it this way has made me appreciate just how layered a seemingly simple advertising image can be. Thank you! Curator: My pleasure!