Ada Rehan as "The Water Lily," from the series Fancy Dress Ball Costumes (N73) for Duke brand cigarettes 1889

This small card was printed by W. Duke & Sons, around the turn of the 20th century, for their cigarette brand. It’s a chromolithograph, meaning it was made by applying multiple layers of ink from lithographic stones. But the material isn't just the paper and ink. What’s equally significant is the image itself: Ada Rehan, a famous actress, costumed as a water lily. It's one of a series of actresses in fancy dress, intended to be collected by smokers. The material qualities here – the vivid colors, the smooth surface of the card, and the celebrity image – all speak to the culture of mass production and consumption that was taking hold at the time. Cigarettes, like these cards, were becoming widely available and desirable consumer goods. And the combination of the two enticed people to buy Duke’s product. So, while this card might seem like a simple trinket, it's actually a window into the complex relationship between art, industry, and society at the dawn of the modern age.