Lottie Seymour, from the Actresses series (N245) issued by Kinney Brothers to promote Sweet Caporal Cigarettes 1890

Curator: This is an albumen print from 1890, one of a series of actresses produced by the Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company to promote Sweet Caporal Cigarettes. The actress featured here is Lottie Seymour. Editor: Well, right away, the photograph feels…vulnerable. She's perched rather awkwardly on that chair, like a bird about to take flight, or maybe even stumble. There's a softness, almost a shyness, in her gaze that draws you in. Curator: These types of photographs were mass produced using the albumen process, which involves coating paper with egg whites to create a glossy surface for the photographic emulsion. The scale and circulation point to the development of mass visual culture tied directly to commercial interests. Editor: Mass-produced, yes, but doesn’t that slightly heightened romantic aura surrounding actresses feed right into our turn-of-the-century yearning? I imagine for some consumers it's a chance to hold the glamour of the theatre, the allure of fame, right in the palm of their hand along with a cigarette. The everyday merging with the exceptional. Curator: Exactly! Consider the socio-economic implications: mass-produced images distributed with everyday goods facilitated the construction and circulation of idealized images of femininity, all for the purpose of increasing sales of tobacco products. The “erotic art” tag seems…generous but also not far from the mark considering it’s using feminine allure to get folks to buy smokes. Editor: Absolutely, and it's carefully constructed, isn't it? Her pose, those layers of fabric hinting at, but not revealing…well, it’s intriguing isn't it? It plays right into those late Victorian ideals, you know, a little bit suggestive but always staying within acceptable boundaries...or maybe just pushing them slightly? Curator: And you see that tension made physical in the textures of the piece itself; the sharp detail of the photograph sitting in slight juxtaposition to the soft focus and blurring. A constructed contrast. Editor: It's funny, isn’t it? We dissect this little card, pull apart the threads of its creation and context, and yet, there's still a part of me, staring at Lottie's face, wondering about her own story, a real woman, turned into an ephemeral, mass-produced fantasy. Curator: A confluence of commerce, material culture and artistry… quite the mix indeed.