Card Number 134, Conti, from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-6) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Duke Cigarettes 1880s

Editor: So, this is Card Number 134, depicting someone named Conti. It’s from the Actors and Actresses series by W. Duke, Sons & Co., sometime in the 1880s, created as a cigarette advertisement! It seems to be a photograph printed onto card stock. It gives off such a dreamy, almost theatrical vibe. What’s your take on it? Curator: Dreamy is spot on. I see a confluence of the theatrical and the everyday, bottled up in this small rectangle of commercial desire. It’s sepia-toned nostalgia, peddling cigarettes, and longing, all in one puff. Notice how the woman, “Conti,” is framed by the lush foliage, almost becoming one with it. What do you make of that artifice, that constructed "naturalness"? Editor: It's almost like she’s playing a role, blending into a set design. But it also makes me think about the burgeoning interest in photography at the time – using it to capture and curate beauty. Curator: Exactly! Photography allowed for mass reproduction and dissemination of "ideal" images. Conti here, immortalized in this promotional card, represents a manufactured aspiration, linking smoking with beauty, glamour, and perhaps, a touch of forbidden fruit. But don't you find it curious, this intertwining of "nature" and artifice in an advertisement designed to fuel addiction? Editor: It’s incredibly layered – the natural backdrop contrasting with the obviously staged portrait, and all for a product that’s decidedly not natural. It makes you wonder about the intended message. Curator: And the impact it had! Did it truly entice people to buy Duke Cigarettes? Or did it offer something more – a fleeting glimpse into a world of fantasy and desire? These little cards weren't just ads; they were miniature windows into the dreams of a generation. Editor: It's fascinating how much we can read into something so small and seemingly simple, revealing so much about the era. Thanks. Curator: My pleasure. Every artwork, even a humble cigarette card, has a story to whisper. It is for us to tune in, to wonder and imagine together.