Grace George in Her Majesty, from the Actresses series (T1), distributed by the American Tobacco Co. to promote Turkish Trophies Cigarettes 1900

This promotional card, made by Frederick Spiegle, features actress Grace George and was distributed by the American Tobacco Company. It’s printed on cardstock, a material perfectly suited for mass production. The chromolithography process used here allowed for affordable color printing, crucial for advertising’s widespread reach. The card's surface is smooth, enabling the fine details of Grace George's regal attire to stand out. The weight of the card gives it a tactile presence, a small luxury in everyday life. Note how the colors—vibrant yet slightly muted—capture the aesthetic of the time, drawing consumers into a world of glamour, while advertising Turkish Trophies cigarettes. This piece exists because of a confluence of factors: industrial printing, the rise of celebrity culture, and the aggressive marketing tactics of the tobacco industry. It blurs the lines between art, advertising, and everyday life, reminding us that even the humblest materials can carry significant cultural weight.