Frankie Raymond, from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-8) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Duke Cigarettes 1890 - 1895

This is Frankie Raymond, from the Actors and Actresses series, a promotional cigarette card made by W. Duke, Sons & Co. The sepia tone suffuses the image, lending it a veneer of nostalgia and timelessness, yet the composition is sharply divided. Frankie Raymond’s form, seemingly caught mid-pose, sits atop a classically adorned plinth, a clear demarcation between the real and the constructed. The very structure of this card prompts inquiry into the signs and systems at play. The actress, an object of gaze, becomes commodified, a signifier within a capitalist structure. The symmetry of her pose, bisected by her own arm, leads us to question fixed meanings. Is she a symbol of empowerment, or a mere object of consumption? Ultimately, this cigarette card is not just a portrait, but a complex interplay of form and function, raising questions about representation, commodification, and the evolving dynamics of early advertising.