Dutailly, Variettees/ Gillet, Opera Comique/ Carmen, Gaitee, from the Actors and Actresses series (N45, Type 4) for Virginia Brights Cigarettes 1885 - 1891

This is a cigarette card from the Actors and Actresses series, printed by Allen & Ginter, likely in the late 19th century. Tobacco companies often included such cards to stiffen cigarette packs, but also as a marketing strategy, tapping into the burgeoning celebrity culture of the time. The card features the portraits of four opera actresses, identified by name and the opera house in which they performed. It serves as a fascinating document of the cultural values of that era. The idealized images of actresses, presented as objects of admiration, reveal much about the social expectations placed on women. To understand this image fully, one could delve into archives of theatrical ephemera, newspapers, and biographical sources. The imagery in this card only has meaning because of its social and institutional context.