Card Number 223, L. Paullin, from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-1) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Cross Cut Cigarettes 1880s

Editor: So this is “Card Number 223, L. Paullin, from the Actors and Actresses series” by Duke Sons & Co., made in the 1880s. It’s at the Met. It seems almost faded, ghost-like. What stands out to you? Curator: The photograph itself is intriguing as a cultural artifact. It was used to sell cigarettes, wasn’t it? But what symbol did this actress represent? We must remember what “image” meant in that era. Editor: Meaning… it wasn't just a pretty face? Curator: Precisely. Consider the symbols embedded in the portrait. What does her clothing suggest? That corseted dress, those pearls. Think of status, beauty ideals, what was deemed desirable. The gaze too, direct and confident. Editor: So, she's embodying ideals about women in that period, specifically ideals to sell to consumers? Curator: Exactly. This small card becomes a vessel carrying complex cultural information about success, aspiration, and perhaps even social mobility – tied inextricably to commerce and the pleasures – or perils – of tobacco. The image of the actress is symbolic. Do you find traces of those past meanings still lingering? Editor: Absolutely. It makes me wonder who L. Paullin really was, outside of this carefully constructed image for Cross Cut Cigarettes. The symbols and semiotics almost erase the individual. It really showcases how photography isn’t really about capturing reality, but an idealized construction. Curator: Indeed. Even seemingly simple images carry a weight of historical expectation and societal messaging. Editor: Well, now I will never look at an advertisement the same way again! Thank you!