[Actress wearing conical hat], from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-8) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Duke Cigarettes 1890 - 1895

Curator: Here we have an albumen print from around 1890-1895, part of the "Actors and Actresses" series, created by W. Duke, Sons & Co. as promotional material for Duke Cigarettes. The photograph features an actress in costume. Editor: The sepia tone gives it an antique feel. There is a certain theatricality at play, obviously heightened by the elaborate conical hat. It's captivating, though—a bit mysterious too, with that upward gaze. Curator: Absolutely. The series offers us a fascinating glimpse into the commercialization of celebrity culture during that period. Cigarette cards like these were incredibly popular. What better way to advertise than to put the images of admired stage performers on them? Editor: Think of the production scale. The labor involved in churning out thousands, if not millions, of these images. What sort of machinery and division of labour would be employed? It's mass consumption embodied in one little card. How many hands did this card pass through, from creation to discard? Curator: Precisely. And the power of imagery to influence tastes and desires. Note how Duke Sons & Co. carefully constructed a connection between smoking their cigarettes and being somehow associated with the glamour of the theater, the actress’ world. Editor: The actress's costume is key. That hat. Was it authentic to a role she was playing, or just an orientalizing flourish? Because it is neither convincingly "oriental" nor does it successfully copy Western forms, revealing that, for all that supposed authenticity, it is largely just manufactured out of nothing, for show and mass sale. Curator: Yes! These cigarette cards weren’t just portraits; they were meticulously crafted marketing tools reflecting and shaping contemporary notions of beauty and entertainment. You can feel that dynamic even now. It wasn't pure representation, it was carefully curated projection. Editor: Exactly, and now we're projecting our interpretations onto it. To look at a portrait like this invites one to re-examine labor processes that we overlook. Next time you buy a packet of something from your store, take a moment and pause to consider how the object in question came into your possession. Curator: It’s a potent reminder of how even seemingly ephemeral items like these can tell us so much about our cultural history. Editor: I see so much more than a sepia photograph, I now see processes, labor, capitalist logic at work! Thank you.