Card Number 354, Miss McVickers, from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-5) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Cameo Cigarettes 1880s

This is Card Number 354, Miss McVickers, from the Actors and Actresses series, a trade card issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Cameo Cigarettes. In the late 19th century, these cards were immensely popular, offering a glimpse into the world of entertainment and celebrity. Miss McVickers, like other actresses featured, was both idealized and commodified, her image used to sell cigarettes in a burgeoning consumer culture. She is posed in a way which suggests a complicated negotiation of power dynamics. Her confident gaze meets the viewers while her outfit suggests a provocative challenge to Victorian norms. These cards blur the boundaries between art, advertising, and entertainment. What do you make of the relationship between the subject and the object she is helping to sell? How does this card make you feel about the legacy of representation, commerce, and identity?