From the series "Sports Girls" (C190), issued by the American Cigarette Company, Ltd., Montreal, to promote Gloria Cigarettes 1885 - 1895

Editor: This is a promotional print from the "Sports Girls" series, dating between 1885 and 1895, put out by the American Cigarette Company to advertise Gloria Cigarettes. The player, in her rugby gear, is raising the ball high, looking pretty pleased with herself! It’s fascinating how this small image, intended as an advertisement, now resides in the Met. What strikes you most when you look at it? Curator: The prominent placement of women within popular imagery is indeed fascinating. Here, she occupies a space normally reserved for men. The athletic woman holding the ball becomes a symbol of burgeoning female empowerment but subtly coded, right? It sells cigarettes by selling a progressive ideal, yet contained and consumable, like the cigarette itself. Editor: So you’re saying that she stands for both liberation and conformity at once? Curator: Precisely. Note the idealization of the female figure; she is presented with a fashionable silhouette instead of being rendered in a purely athletic manner. The sporting attire is thus both empowering and performative. Do you notice the background's pastoral scene in juxtaposition with this athletic figure? Editor: I do now, and I think that adds to that tension of freedom versus confinement you're speaking about, contrasting modern sports with idealized nature! Curator: And that tension becomes the very image the consumer buys into when purchasing their cigarettes. We are left pondering, who is she, and what are the symbols that resonate with cultural memory, especially as this image fades on toned paper, echoing within our modern lens? Editor: I never thought about it that way; I was initially stuck on how overtly sexualized it was. Thanks, that gives me something to think about. Curator: And that initial observation is also completely valid, furthering our ever evolving reading of image-making within society.