Card Number 79, Fanny Rice, from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-2) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Cross Cut Cigarettes 1880s

This is a promotional card for Cross Cut Cigarettes, produced by W. Duke, Sons & Co. sometime between 1870 and 1920. It features a portrait of Fanny Rice, an actress of the period. These cards were inserted into cigarette packs as a marketing strategy, capitalizing on the rising popularity of both tobacco and celebrity culture. The actresses and actors series, like this one, reflect how the emerging mass media industries elevated performers to celebrity status. Rice’s image, adorned with pearls and flowers, embodies the idealized beauty and glamour marketed to consumers. The text, "Cigarettes are the Best", links this aspirational image with the pleasures of smoking. Understanding this card requires research into the history of advertising, tobacco consumption, and the entertainment industry during this period. By examining archives of popular culture we can gain insight into the social conditions that shaped both the production and reception of images like this. This is how we interpret the politics of imagery.