Mlle. Panol, from the Actresses series (N245) issued by Kinney Brothers to promote Sweet Caporal Cigarettes 1890

Editor: This is Mlle. Panol, a photograph that's also a print and drawing from the Actresses series, created around 1890 by Kinney Brothers. It’s a trade card, actually, meant to promote Sweet Caporal Cigarettes. The sepia tones give it a dreamy, vintage quality. What strikes you about this image? Curator: The gaze, certainly. The soft focus lends an air of wistful detachment. The hat feels deliberately jaunty and I love how her eyes lead us beyond the frame. There is something really powerful about using beauty to sell things. I feel as if it invites us into a fantasy world, wouldn't you say? Editor: I agree, definitely escapist. The actresses look nothing like, you know, the factory workers who might have bought these cigarettes! It is interesting that her attire seems more old-fashioned for the time; like something from an opera. Curator: Good eye! Absolutely operatic. Trade cards often drew on popular culture, reflecting and shaping the aspirations of the burgeoning middle class. Perhaps it suggested sophistication, aspiration, something to buy into quite literally! And Mlle. Panol, positioned as both accessible and aspirational, bridges that gap perfectly, wouldn't you think? Editor: I guess the opera reference added an elevated aesthetic appeal and created the sense of a high art culture? Curator: Precisely! That subtle nod to the finer things definitely boosted the cigarettes' perceived value. Editor: It’s amazing how much visual culture hides behind a simple trade card! Curator: Indeed! Peeling back the layers reveals a fascinating tapestry of commerce, culture, and the ever-elusive art of persuasion.