Emily Rigl, from the Actresses and Celebrities series (N60, Type 2) promoting Little Beauties Cigarettes for Allen & Ginter brand tobacco products 1887

This card, one of a collectible series from around the late 19th century, was made by Allen & Ginter to promote their Little Beauties Cigarettes. It’s a photograph, mass-produced as a paper insert in packs of smokes. The image itself reflects an encounter between photography, commercial marketing, and celebrity culture. The subject, actress Emily Rigl, is presented in a style that seems to borrow from folk traditions, with the sort of costume that might appear onstage. Photography was a relatively new medium at this time, and its reproducible nature made it a perfect fit for mass-produced ephemera. The card's small size underscores its status as a collectible, designed to be traded and accumulated. While the image attempts to connect with notions of beauty and artistry, the card ultimately served a commercial purpose, encouraging consumption and brand loyalty. It's a great example of how images, even those that appear to be purely aesthetic, are always embedded in material, processes, and social context.