Mlle. Vondrais, Paris, from the Actors and Actresses series (N171) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1886 - 1890

Editor: This is a trade card from the late 1880s, a print called "Mlle. Vondrais, Paris, from the Actors and Actresses series (N171) for Old Judge Cigarettes," made by Goodwin & Company. It’s a photograph printed on a small card, clearly made to be distributed with cigarettes. I’m struck by how utilitarian it seems, yet it's a portrait too. What do you make of it? Curator: Its function as a promotional item for cigarettes is precisely what I find compelling. Let’s consider the material conditions of its production and consumption. The cheapness of the print medium allowed for mass distribution, connecting this image of a Parisian actress, Mlle. Vondrais, to a much wider consumer base than traditional portraiture. Editor: So you see the appeal of it as more about the way it was distributed and who had access to it more so than just the portrait itself? Curator: Exactly! This image isn’t just representing an actress; it's about the industry that produces images, desires, and social hierarchies. Old Judge Cigarettes is capitalizing on the celebrity of Mlle. Vondrais, embedding her image within the everyday habit of smoking. How does the choice of subject, an actress, and the object itself—a cigarette card—reveal the relationship between art, entertainment and commerce during this period? Editor: It's interesting to consider how these images became valuable to consumers not necessarily for the art itself, but for the information or status they conferred. It kind of democratized portraiture by associating it with something as common as smoking, something previously accessible only to a certain social class, maybe? Curator: It speaks to a shifting cultural landscape where mass production and advertising were beginning to shape perceptions of value. The material object, the cigarette card, becomes a vehicle for desire, linking consumption with celebrity and aspirational lifestyles. Editor: I see what you mean. I originally looked at this as a simple photograph, but now I see it as an advertisement whose purpose extends beyond its mere image! Thank you. Curator: Indeed. By looking at the materials, the production process, and the intended audience, we can unlock so much about its place in history.