Miss Broughton, from the Actresses series (N203) issued by Wm. S. Kimball & Co. 1889

This is a photographic print of Miss Broughton, from the Actresses series, that was issued by the Wm. S. Kimball & Co. These cards were distributed with cigarettes at a time when the emergent consumer culture in the United States was busy incorporating women into its promotional strategies. Here, Miss Broughton’s body is presented as an object of spectacle, her idealized form framed by an exotic backdrop. The card is a product of its time, reflecting the gender dynamics of late 19th-century America, when the burgeoning advertising industry was just starting to realize the selling power of female imagery. As a historian, I am interested in how such images contribute to the cultural construction of femininity. Resources such as advertising archives, sociological studies, and historical analyses of consumer culture can provide valuable insights into the social context and impact of this seemingly simple cigarette card.