Miss Myrame, from the Actresses series (N245) issued by Kinney Brothers to promote Sweet Caporal Cigarettes 1890

Curator: The image before us, "Miss Myrame" from the Actresses series, was created around 1890 by the Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company. It's a photographic print, one in a series of cards used to promote Sweet Caporal Cigarettes. Editor: There’s an almost defiant gaze from the woman on the right. The outfits, or rather the suggestion of classical armour, makes me think about constructed identity. There is the reality of their image, but the theatrical element can't be overlooked either. Curator: Absolutely. These cigarette cards functioned as a form of early mass media, crafting and disseminating ideals of beauty and celebrity. In these symbols we discern power. What image is more captivating than the heroine ready for battle? Editor: That's true, but let’s unpack that “power”. Aren’t they being objectified, turned into desirable objects to sell cigarettes? There is an intersection between empowerment and exploitation at work. How much choice did these women have? And we're assigning the value when it was their own livelihood at stake! Curator: Perhaps so, but that symbol – that fierce and regal posture - speaks of self-determination, of a figure refusing to be merely passive. Even if created within a system of commodification, these images still vibrate with a desire for representation. This costume carries so much weight that has been put upon its symbols for thousands of years. It continues to say to us even today what they would have us see in them. Editor: And what do you suppose "they" wanted us to see then? The exotic Other? The strong female role to be admired... from a distance? The cards become a mirror reflecting societal values. And what this period most treasured in its entertainers and performers of any gender was... youth! And beauty! Curator: Exactly! The point of this image is to embody this. It represents how celebrity worked then—to create icons. What it means for celebrity and power when they both collide. Editor: A clash that is all too pertinent in our celebrity driven present, sadly. Thank you for that illuminating dive into historical context! Curator: My pleasure. A fitting reflection for these fascinating objects, truly!