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

This small card, part of a series by Allen & Ginter, was produced to be included in packs of Virginia Brights Cigarettes. It features a portrait of Alex Martins, a performer of the time. These cards were immensely popular, offering consumers glimpses into the lives of actors and actresses at a time when the concept of celebrity was emerging, but what does it mean to turn the human form into a commodity to sell tobacco? Note Martins’s gaze, seemingly direct, yet mediated through the lens and the market forces driving its distribution. Consider the implications of circulating images of women within a male-dominated consumer culture. Was this a form of empowerment or exploitation? As you look at Martins, what can you infer from her expression? Does it reveal anything about the power dynamics at play, or her sense of agency?