Josephine Hall, from the Actors and Actresses series (N45, Type 8) for Virginia Brights Cigarettes 1885 - 1891

This photograph of Josephine Hall was one of a series of collectible cards given away with Virginia Brights Cigarettes by Allen & Ginter. As a mass-produced image, it reflects the industrialized world of the late 19th century. The card itself is humble. Printed in a sepia tone, it shows the actress in a carefully posed studio shot, meant to convey elegance. But the card stock is thin, the image slightly blurry, and the text at the bottom plain. These were not intended as high art, but rather as a marketing tool to promote the consumption of cigarettes. They also reveal a broader cultural interest in celebrity at the time, as figures like Josephine Hall were becoming public figures, and commercial products. Consider the labor involved: from the tobacco fields to the factory floor, to the photographers and printers who made the cards, this one little picture connects to vast systems of production and consumption. It reminds us that even the most ephemeral objects can tell us much about the society that made them.