Annie Summerville, from the Actors and Actresses series (N45, Type 8) for Virginia Brights Cigarettes 1885 - 1891

Allen & Ginter produced this albumen silver print of Annie Summerville for Virginia Brights Cigarettes in the late 19th century. The "Actors and Actresses" series, of which this is a part, speaks to the burgeoning celebrity culture of the United States during the Gilded Age. These cards, included in cigarette packs, served as a form of advertising. Summerville's suggestive pose, her finger to her lips in a shushing gesture, and her flamboyant costume all contributed to her alluring image. The culture of celebrity was nascent at this time, and the increasing popularity of performers was fueled by new mass media such as photography, and the wider distribution networks of the tobacco industry. The image, while seemingly innocuous, hints at complex negotiations of gender, class, and public image. To more fully understand this image, historians would look at theatre history, the history of advertising, and the development of photography as a tool for creating celebrity. The meaning of art such as this is always reliant on a wider understanding of the social and institutional contexts of its creation.