Allen, from the Actors and Actresses series (N171) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1886 - 1890

Curator: This is "Allen, from the Actors and Actresses series (N171) for Old Judge Cigarettes," produced sometime between 1886 and 1890 by Goodwin & Company. It resides here at the Met. Editor: Isn't she lovely? It's sepia-toned, naturally, so there's a dreamy softness, but also this really arresting stillness about her gaze. She's so contained and wistful looking. Like she is waiting for something, or someone. Curator: Indeed. The composition directs our attention meticulously. Note the contrasting vertical stripes of her dress against the implied horizontality of her relaxed posture. The eye is drawn up towards her face, framed by that broad-brimmed hat. It functions both as portraiture and advertisement, cleverly integrating image and text. Editor: Right, it's an ad for cigarettes! Though honestly, you forget that for a minute, looking at it. She doesn't exactly scream, "Buy more tobacco!". More like "buy into a romantic idea of feminine pensiveness." Is that even a word? Pensiveness. The backdrop feels both staged and kind of wild; fake leaves with some wild shrubs. All that sepia makes me think it's fading, but I bet it was beautiful in its day. Curator: I agree the backdrop contributes significantly. The way it suggests an outdoor scene, while simultaneously reminding us of the artifice inherent in the photographic medium…it creates a fascinating tension. Semiotically, the "Old Judge" cigarette name becomes interwoven with notions of performance, identity, and even judgement. Editor: Haha, judging her acting perhaps, or just how well she could sell those death sticks. She must have known that somebody would buy it in hopes of her selling cigarettes. Maybe? I do love that slightly melancholic quality though. Something both timeless and utterly of its era. A tiny card of reverie, and consumerism, and well-made photography... that's both beautiful, strange and just perfect. Curator: Perfectly articulated! Its value as an object lies exactly in that intersection you describe: art, commerce, and a certain cultural mood. Its small size makes it so immediate too. And those subtleties you notice underscore its lasting value as both historical document and aesthetically engaging artwork.