Card Number 715, Lily Gray, from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-3) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Cross Cut Cigarettes 1880s

This card featuring Lily Gray was produced by W. Duke, Sons & Co. as one of a series of promotional cards for Cross Cut Cigarettes. These cards, printed on paper, were included in cigarette packs, capitalizing on the popularity of actors and actresses to market tobacco products. The material of this card, humble paper stock, reflects its purpose as a mass-produced advertising tool, designed to be circulated widely and then discarded. The photographic process used to reproduce Gray’s image speaks to the industrialization of image-making in the late 19th century, a departure from the more laborious forms of portraiture of previous eras. These images were made possible through processes of mechanical reproduction tied to wider social issues of labor, politics, and consumption, that fueled the expansion of the tobacco industry. The significance of materials, making, and context is crucial to understanding the full meaning of the card, highlighting how it challenges traditional distinctions between fine art and craft.