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

This card featuring ‘Little Tuesday’ is one of a series of “Actor and Actresses” produced by Allen & Ginter, a 19th-century tobacco company, as an insert within packs of Virginia Brights Cigarettes. These cards existed within a cultural moment deeply enamored with celebrity and the burgeoning mass media of the late 1800s. At the same time, they reveal a very specific vision of femininity. Consider the implications of promoting cigarettes using the image of a child actress. What does it mean to sexualize an image by depicting a child in a miniature adult costume? These cards both capitalized on and contributed to the social construction of fame and feminine identity, framing it within a system of consumption and display. The circulation of such images normalized an objectified image of women and perpetuated societal expectations around beauty, youth, and performance. The image invites us to reflect on the complex interplay between identity, representation, and commerce. What does this tell us about the values and anxieties of the period, and how do these historical echoes resonate with contemporary issues of representation and consumer culture?