Victoria Schilling, from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-6) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Duke Cigarettes 1880s

Curator: This photographic print, dating back to the 1880s, features Victoria Schilling and comes from a series of promotional cards for Duke Cigarettes. The Actors and Actresses series sought to associate popular figures with the brand. Editor: She looks like she’s about to burst into song, doesn't she? There’s something almost operatic about the pose and the way the light catches her dress. It makes me think of those dreamy pre-Raphaelite paintings, a world drenched in beauty... or perhaps it's all just the cigarette fumes talking! Curator: The 'dreamy' aesthetic definitely ties into the pictorialism movement of the late 19th century. But it’s crucial to remember that this is advertising. The representation of women here serves specific economic and social purposes, reinforcing notions of feminine beauty and consumer desire. It's interesting to note that it seems like a charcoal drawing and colour pencil were used in this photograph. Editor: It's such a tiny thing too, but so much care has gone into it. Did people keep these in their pockets? What did it mean to someone, walking around with a little photo of Victoria Schilling? And imagine, maybe someone was even convinced to pick up Duke cigarettes because of her... all a little surreal, no? Curator: Absolutely, it served as a collectible item, a small piece of popular culture easily distributed and consumed. It’s through examining pieces like this that we see how celebrity and consumerism were interwoven, especially concerning the female body as a site of marketing. Who was setting these standards of beauty, for example, and what were the consequences for the actresses and the consumers alike? Editor: It makes you wonder, too, what Victoria herself thought about being on a cigarette card! It all has this odd beauty but also this really odd feel to it, being associated to cigarettes, like, what a strange legacy! Curator: It highlights how deeply embedded images of women became, and remain, in the construction of societal values and capitalist desires. Editor: It’s amazing to think of what one little photograph can tell us about society. It definitely brings new insight to cigarette marketing!