Laura Moore, from the Actors and Actresses series (N45, Type 8) for Virginia Brights Cigarettes 1885 - 1891

Curator: This is an albumen print of Laura Moore from the Actors and Actresses series. It was created between 1885 and 1891 by Allen & Ginter for Virginia Brights Cigarettes. Editor: My first thought is of the overwhelming opulence suggested in such a tiny format! Look at all those pearl necklaces, and that intricate trim. It feels almost comical when applied to such a commonplace object. Curator: Exactly! We need to consider this image in the context of consumer culture at the end of the 19th century. The Virginia Brights cigarette brand commodified images of actresses like Laura Moore, a celebrated figure of her time. This links deeply to broader social discourses concerning celebrity, performance, and the construction of femininity in the public eye. Editor: And consider the production! These images were mass-produced using albumen prints, which involves coating paper with egg whites. That makes me wonder about the labor involved and the vast quantities of eggs needed! It underscores how even seemingly refined images are underpinned by industrial-scale production. And also makes me hungry! Curator: Indeed, these cards speak volumes about class dynamics. Here's this celebrated woman essentially selling tobacco, highlighting the exploitation inherent in early celebrity endorsements. The distribution via cigarette packs also blurs the lines between high culture and popular entertainment. Who had access, and what messages did it promote about beauty, success, and accessibility? Editor: I see a similar interplay in the aesthetic choices. It attempts a painterly quality—look at the soft focus meant to emulate a fashionable portrait, and consider how photography becomes just another industrial means by which to distribute representations of people like items to be consumed like anything else: pearls, tobacco, and beauty. Curator: By placing Laura Moore in this flattened and distributed context, we’re asked to think about how structures of power like wealth, labor, gender and class, coalesce and impact women in entertainment during this period. She's both an individual and a reproducible commodity. Editor: Right, which leads us back to the actual cigarette! Thinking about how many hands this card may have passed through—pulled out of packs, collected, traded… all those little actions accumulate to reveal a portrait of consumer habits from the period. Curator: Precisely. Understanding this print through Allen & Ginter gives us insight into the complex narratives around celebrity, commerce, and cultural representation in the late 19th century. Editor: And analyzing the material choices and means of distribution adds depth to our understanding of consumption, labor, and the social lives of objects at that moment.