Bertine Robison, from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-8) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Duke Cigarettes 1890 - 1895

Curator: There's an undeniable grace in this sepia photograph. Bertine Robison, a portrait taken between 1890 and 1895 by W. Duke, Sons & Co. as part of their Actors and Actresses series to promote Duke Cigarettes. Editor: Graceful, yes, but there's something also strangely unsettling. Perhaps it's the monochrome palette or the direct, somewhat intense gaze. Curator: It is fascinating how such an everyday item – a cigarette card – provides a glimpse into the world of late 19th century celebrity culture, and the rising phenomenon of using imagery for advertisement. Editor: It does make one wonder about the symbolism Duke sought by featuring this particular actress. The floral adornments on her dress and hat. What might those flowers represent? They create an aura of idyllic, feminine beauty, perhaps intended to appeal to a specific consumer demographic. Curator: Absolutely. We have to understand that images like this weren’t just passive portraits. They were actively constructing identities and desires within the context of a burgeoning consumer culture. Duke was carefully curating who and what it represented to potential buyers. Editor: Exactly! Each of those details carries intentionality. Think about the lace curtain or draped fabric— suggesting a world of theater, drama, emotion. Curator: It’s an intriguing example of how commerce shapes the iconography of fame. The subject becomes an accessible image. We must acknowledge the cultural politics at play, where ideals of beauty are commodified and widely circulated. Editor: It goes beyond mere commodity to archetype, doesn't it? The image speaks of constructed glamour, theatrical flourish and, more simply, the everyday accessibility of celebrity, even at the dawn of mass media. I feel as though it evokes all the performances given. Curator: And that intersection makes this small portrait a powerful piece of social history. The portrait serves to help us think critically about advertising and consumerism within the social landscape. Editor: Absolutely, a lovely testament to that lasting allure of a bygone era—and, in equal measure, of a cultural icon being captured as such within the confines of its consumer zeitgeist.