Card Number 55, Miss Vaughan, from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-2) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Cross Cut Cigarettes 1880s

Curator: This card, dating from the 1880s, is one of a series produced by W. Duke, Sons & Co. to promote their Cross Cut Cigarettes. It features Miss Vaughan, an actress of the period. Editor: She looks incredibly wistful, almost melancholic, doesn't she? The sepia tones amplify that sense of quiet longing. Curator: Yes, it's a soft drawing rendered with such photographic skill, but consider the material—these cards were essentially ephemeral. Cheaply produced, given away with cigarettes, easily discarded, yet they documented popular culture and promoted consumerism. Editor: Precisely. Cigarette cards were a fascinating tool. The tobacco industry targeted women, attempting to normalize and glamorize a highly gendered product through images of female performers, thus exploiting Victorian gender norms and pushing for change simultaneously. Miss Vaughan's image becomes part of that historical context. Curator: It's a small photograph, part of a mass-produced set. We need to remember these images helped solidify fame. They acted as trading cards, a form of advertising using actors, athletes, and other prominent figures, to boost cigarette sales and build brand loyalty. Editor: It raises so many interesting questions about labor too. Who was this actress, what were the terms of her depiction, what was her relationship to fame, and what role did photography play in the circulation of identities and desires in the late 19th century? Curator: This convergence of factors renders Miss Vaughan’s portrait deeply poignant and complex. She is, simultaneously, both an actress and an advertising asset. Editor: Indeed. Examining Miss Vaughan’s card leads to examining identity, gender, celebrity culture, and labor, giving context to Victorian popular culture. Curator: Thank you for emphasizing how this mass-produced tobacco card unveils a multilayered depiction and allows for greater discussion regarding Victorian materiality. Editor: Thank you for illustrating how the actress becomes both commodity and an insight to Victorian social conditions.