Almy, from the Actors and Actresses series (N171) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1886 - 1890

Editor: Here we have "Almy, from the Actors and Actresses series" made by Goodwin & Company between 1886 and 1890. It's an albumen print that was part of an Old Judge Cigarettes series. I'm struck by the aged sepia tones, but also by the sort of roughness of the etching marks; it feels very unlike the kind of pristine photographic portraits you might expect. What's your perspective on this? Curator: It’s crucial to examine these trading cards within the context of mass production and commodity culture. Consider the materiality of the object: albumen prints, a photographic process using egg whites to bind the image to the paper, were relatively inexpensive and reproducible at the time, facilitating the creation of vast quantities of these cards to be distributed with cigarette packs. It collapses the divide between high and low culture, right? Editor: Definitely. I guess I hadn’t thought about how literally they were ‘producing’ culture at that time! The fact that the cards are included in cigarette packs transforms Almy's image into a tool of capitalist exchange, promoting consumption through the allure of celebrity and entertainment. It makes me wonder who ‘Almy’ actually was. Curator: Exactly! Instead of just thinking about this image as "art," what does the specific medium – an inexpensive, mass-produced photograph designed for marketing – tell us? What kind of labor went into creating these prints? Were the subjects fairly compensated, or were they merely fodder for capitalist expansion? Think, too, about the consumers... Editor: It's interesting to think about the audience being encouraged to consume both the cigarettes and the images, creating a cycle of material desire. Curator: Yes! So we're really not just talking about a pretty picture, but about labor, materials, consumption and how it’s all connected within a specific historical and economic system. The layering of industries that go into what is often considered a simple collectible is pretty immense when you unpack it.