Card Number 562, Amy Gordon, from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-7) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Duke Cigarettes 1880s

Curator: This portrait of Amy Gordon, "Card Number 562," was actually a commercial print made in the 1880s by Duke Sons & Co. to promote their cigarettes. What strikes you most about this piece? Editor: I think it's interesting that the portrait of an actress was used to sell cigarettes! The image itself seems like a fairly standard portrait; drawing or print... on a small card format. How does this function as art? Curator: Precisely. It pushes us to consider how value is constructed. Here, an actress’s likeness, a commodity in itself, becomes further enmeshed in the circuits of production and consumption. This card was churned out en masse. Look closely: the textures and the printing techniques tell a story of industrial labor, don't they? The materials themselves, the card stock, the inks, reflect the economics of popular culture. Editor: So it’s less about Amy Gordon the person and more about the mechanics of image-making and distribution at that time? Curator: Absolutely. The image’s value isn’t solely aesthetic, it's rooted in its role within the burgeoning consumer culture. The Duke company isn’t just selling cigarettes; they’re selling aspiration, associating their product with celebrity. The materiality and accessibility of these cards democratized art. Where might one normally see a portrait like this, and whom would it serve? Editor: I see... normally it would only be in rich houses. By printing this and including it in a pack of cigarettes, the image becomes part of everyday life. What else can we understand by looking at its production? Curator: Consider the laborers involved in printing these cards, the scale of operation needed to distribute them nationally, and how it fueled a massive advertising industry that normalized smoking. These cards reflect broader shifts in society itself: the rise of consumer culture and the increasing commodification of…everything. Editor: This has changed my perspective quite a lot; seeing art this way as related to process helps it connect more to our world today, doesn’t it? Curator: Indeed! Material analysis urges us to look beyond the surface, and uncover the power structures that shaped this image.