Card Number 731, May Johnston, from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-3) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Cross Cut Cigarettes 1880s

This card from the Actors and Actresses series, issued by Duke Sons & Co., presents us with May Johnston in a costume, likely for a theatrical role. Her garb, particularly the bonnet and tunic-like dress, recalls the attire of innocence and pastoral simplicity. But let us not be too quick to accept this at face value. The figure, with her hand raised in a gesture of what could be either defense or playful defiance, echoes poses seen in classical depictions of nymphs or even allegorical figures caught in moments of transformation or revelation. Consider the way similar gestures appear in Renaissance paintings, where a raised hand might signify knowledge, power, or a divine touch. Here, in the context of a cigarette card, the gesture is repurposed, transformed from sacred to secular. It hints at the actress's power to captivate, to transform herself, and perhaps, to tempt us, the viewers, much like the advertised cigarettes. The resonance of older symbols is used to create a captivating, if fleeting, moment of allure.