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

Curator: Oh, aren't these old cigarette cards just delicious little time capsules? So evocative of another era. Editor: Exactly! This one is titled "Miss Jeunesse" and comes from the Actors and Actresses series created between 1885 and 1891 for Virginia Brights Cigarettes by Allen & Ginter. It is located here at The Met. It's really… different, seeing a work of art used as basically an advertisement. I wonder, what do you make of this image in the context of its original purpose? Curator: Well, put yourself in the shoes—or should I say, perhaps more fanciful dancing slippers?—of someone encountering this in the late 19th century. Images of actresses, celebrated figures...they held a certain glamorous allure, didn't they? More so as being linked with a product like tobacco could provide a bit of extra charm. Editor: Absolutely. There's that aspirational element, tying the enjoyment of a cigarette to the world of theater and celebrity. The performance must go on, as it were! It does also feel a bit strange – maybe it's just me. Curator: But does this suggest a different idea altogether? Did she have an individual power? Was she powerful in ways society struggled to identify at the time? Now how fascinating is that? Editor: Oh, I hadn't thought of that at all. What really strikes me now is that combination, and what it says about cultural values back then and today. Thank you! Curator: My pleasure! It is through images like these that we can begin to reflect on what it truly meant to live in that moment.