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

This is a promotional trading card for Virginia Brights Cigarettes, featuring actress Arline Coombs. Created by Allen & Ginter, the card is part of a series spotlighting actors and actresses, reflecting the late 19th-century's fascination with celebrity culture and the burgeoning advertising industry. Coombs, posed on a swing, embodies the era's ideals of feminine charm. Yet, consider how these images, meant to promote smoking, also reveal complex negotiations of gender and commerce. These cards offered a glimpse into the lives of performers, but they simultaneously commodified their images for the consumption of tobacco products. The actresses are captured in carefully constructed poses, presenting a vision of idealized beauty. What does it mean to consider the dreams and realities of these women, whose visibility was both a source of power and a form of exploitation? This card reminds us to reflect on the intertwined histories of entertainment, advertising, and the gaze through which we perceive performers.