Card Number 379, Carrie Leslie, from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-3) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Cross Cut Cigarettes 1880s

Curator: This is "Card Number 379, Carrie Leslie," a promotional print from the 1880s by W. Duke, Sons & Co., the cigarette people. Editor: Immediately, I’m struck by how theatrical it feels, almost operatic, the pose. Is that...her own hair she's lifting like that? It gives off a sort of 'femme fatale' vibe, wouldn't you say? Curator: Interesting! Yes, there's certainly a performative aspect to it. It's designed to sell a fantasy, wrapped up, of course, with tobacco. These cards were inserted into cigarette packs, part of a wider marketing strategy that both capitalized on and constructed ideas about celebrity, gender, and desire in the late 19th century. Note how "Carrie Leslie" is prominently printed. She had a stage name, and they certainly were interested in trading in fantasies and notoriety to boost sales. Editor: I’m seeing it a little differently. There's something subtly subversive here. The draping shawl with Greek Key pattern evokes a Grecian goddess, or even classical statues, but the very overt sexuality, like something is missing, sort of takes over. Is it empowering, or a commodification? It seems an argument of both. And look how young she seems! There is also something so tragic and romantic in seeing it today as an object from a long lost memory. Curator: Commodification, definitely! And it brings up all the inherent gender issues around performance and spectatorship of the era. What strikes me as I meditate on the photograph a bit longer is the constructed artifice—the blurred background to suggest an exterior, or interior location. How does the reality differ from how women felt inside themselves? And then printed onto mass-produced objects of capital? The dissonance almost aches. Editor: Yes, the artificiality clashes with the intended allure. This card tells more than just a marketing tale. It raises a ton of complex questions about gender roles, advertising's influence, the very notion of celebrity, doesn’t it? I was not expecting such profundity when first seeing the picture, and only considered the 'wow' factor it held. Curator: Exactly! It becomes a little time capsule of those tensions, doesn’t it? It certainly is a work for some more mindful moments and reflective insight.