Mlle. Mella, from the Actresses series (N245) issued by Kinney Brothers to promote Sweet Caporal Cigarettes 1890

Curator: It’s fascinating to consider this particular trade card, dating to around 1890. It comes from the “Actresses” series—number N245—created by Kinney Brothers to promote Sweet Caporal Cigarettes. The subject is Mlle. Mella, and it currently resides here at The Met. Editor: Well, my first impression is one of studied pose and arrangement. Note how the verticality of her figure, draped in what looks like classical garb, is balanced by the dynamic curve of her arm lifted above her head, almost theatrical. Curator: Absolutely, and it speaks to a very specific cultural moment. These cards weren’t just about selling cigarettes. They also distributed and promoted an ideal of femininity and celebrity. Actresses, in particular, were becoming powerful public figures, so their images carried a certain social weight. Editor: The way light is used is so interesting, especially as it seems the source has been intentionally obscured from view. I imagine this was done to subtly diffuse light from hitting her face, instead giving the emphasis to the draped garb around her frame and also the crown or head-dress on top of her head. Curator: Exactly. The pose, the costume… they’re all meticulously crafted to create an image of elegance, but it is all inherently performative as well. This industry created images and these figures and shaped them into ideals of glamour and luxury that brands leveraged to court popularity with specific social groups. Editor: There’s a certain artificiality in that perfection, definitely. In a way, these popular figures can feel strangely impersonal, almost like symbols rather than flesh-and-blood people. Curator: Precisely. Consider how mass-produced this image would be. These small cards spread so widely, offering affordable and accessible images into almost any class, shaping ideas of beauty and celebrity at the turn of the century. Editor: It really brings out how our reading of composition and form can reflect back to this very societal framework you mention, I must admit. Thanks to you I will read the photograph in this new light in the future. Curator: And for me, thinking more directly about your take reminds us how much this era of art and image creation set a stage for an entire 20th century obsessed with glamour and celebrity in different forms.