Adah Richmond, from the Actors and Actresses series (N45, Type 1) for Virginia Brights Cigarettes 1885 - 1891

Curator: It strikes me as quietly defiant, like a stolen moment backstage. There’s a confidence that contradicts the age. Editor: We’re looking at “Adah Richmond, from the Actors and Actresses series (N45, Type 1) for Virginia Brights Cigarettes," dating from 1885 to 1891. These cards, created by Allen & Ginter, were collectible inserts in cigarette packs, showcasing popular actresses. This one is a photograph. Curator: Cigarette cards! A very particular and somewhat grubby intersection of commerce, desire, and the arts. And the staging here feels self-aware, theatrical, perhaps commenting on the performance of femininity itself. She isn't just posing, she’s posturing. Editor: It's a fascinating insight to think of it as an early form of celebrity endorsement but with a distinctly gendered lens. Richmond’s theatrical costume is meant to evoke a certain character, but also perhaps a certain…accessibility? What do you read into it? Curator: The garb reads like a playful nod to male aristocratic attire – it makes you wonder what roles she was cast in, and to what extent she had creative control over her own image, here. The Virginia Brights company probably wanted to imply that by buying their cigarettes, you buy into the elevated lifestyle of Richmond, but also its implicit subversion of stuffy aristocratic norms. Editor: I see that subversive edge you describe. The pose, though seemingly relaxed, possesses an almost confrontational attitude towards the viewer. Her success as an actress, commodified to sell cigarettes... there are many layers of consumption here that feel undeniably political. Curator: I think in approaching historical works, it is easy to fall into a trap of simple readings of victimhood when considering women of past eras; here Richmond offers agency and subversion in a way that transcends typical historical reading. Editor: These pocket-sized provocations remind us that even the most mundane objects can offer a window into the complex negotiations of gender, class, and power. What a thought-provoking point. Curator: Indeed, and even after this brief consideration, she remains just as elusive as I originally perceived her.