Floy Crowell, from the Actors and Actresses series (N45, Type 1) for Virginia Brights Cigarettes 1885 - 1891

This is a photograph of Floy Crowell, an actress, and it was made for Virginia Brights Cigarettes as part of a series of promotional cards. These cards offered a novel way to advertise in the late 19th century, embedding commercial imagery within the fabric of everyday life. Consider the implications of associating theatrical performance with tobacco consumption. The image creates a connection between the glamorous world of the stage and the habit of smoking, subtly suggesting that consuming this particular brand of cigarettes is somehow sophisticated. This was the time of the Gilded Age, and the burgeoning American tobacco industry relied on just this kind of aspirational advertising. We can better understand the cultural role of art by exploring the archives of advertising history, business records, and theatrical ephemera. In doing so, we reveal how the image of Floy Crowell was not just a portrait, but a carefully constructed message designed to shape consumer behavior and promote a particular vision of American life.