Annie St. Tel, from the Actresses series (N245) issued by Kinney Brothers to promote Sweet Caporal Cigarettes 1890

Editor: This is “Annie St. Tel, from the Actresses series (N245) issued by Kinney Brothers to promote Sweet Caporal Cigarettes,” created in 1890. It's a photographic print. There's something ethereal and delicate about it, but also… faded, almost like a memory. What do you see in this piece? Curator: A daydream! I imagine plumes of Sweet Caporal smoke curling around a vaudeville stage. Kinney Brothers weren’t just selling cigarettes; they were selling a fantasy. It's impressionistic in its soft focus. What does Annie's pose evoke for you? Do you think of ballet or theatre? Editor: Definitely theatre! Her expression is so direct, almost confrontational. It makes me think about the women on stage at the time; were they just pretty faces, or did they have some agency? Curator: Agency, definitely. Consider the context: late 19th century, women were fighting for more control. The stage offered a platform, even within the constraints. This image, distributed with cigarettes, brings Annie, and her performance, into parlors and men's clubs across the country, expanding her reach in ways she may not have imagined. A small paper object with grand ambitions. What are you left wondering about? Editor: I’m wondering what happened to Annie. Did this cigarette card lead to something bigger? It’s interesting to consider a work of art created to advertise something else – a real intersection of commerce and culture. Curator: Exactly! It proves art finds a way, even when wrapped in tobacco. I leave thinking about the role of photography to blur the lines between fame, performance, and daily life at the end of the 19th Century.