Card Number 319, Isabella Terrise, from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-3) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Cross Cut Cigarettes 1880s

Curator: Look at this curious little card, found in the Met. "Card Number 319, Isabella Terrise, from the Actors and Actresses series," printed by W. Duke, Sons & Co. in the 1880s as an advertisement for Cross-Cut Cigarettes. Editor: It feels oddly intimate for something that was essentially a promotional item. The muted sepia tones and the soft focus give it a wistful, dreamlike quality. What strikes me most is the bird she's holding – there's this unexpected vulnerability about it. Curator: Indeed, the bird introduces a delicate interplay of symbolism. Birds have long been associated with freedom, the soul, and even prophecy. Consider the actress's connection to it – perhaps a metaphor for her own transient existence, flitting from role to role, stage to stage. Editor: Right. I also see a strange connection with images from ukiyo-e – like, here, the focus shifts to an element seemingly outside of the portrait. Like a poem by Basho that moves from a macro-scale subject to a micro-scale element almost imperceptibly. Curator: It also makes one wonder about the gaze in portraits. She's looking down at the bird; it makes the viewer feel like an intruder on her private world. This breaks from conventions, it allows you into her space without actually addressing you. Almost subversive for a piece of promotional material! Editor: Definitely. You think you're just grabbing a smoke, and boom – you’re contemplating life’s fleeting moments with Isabella. You start reflecting: "am I this bird, captive?" Pretty powerful marketing if you ask me. And a glimpse of this turn of the century where advertising still carried this whiff of artistic license. Curator: Precisely! This card isn’t just about selling cigarettes, it offers a little escape, a miniature world of art. I'm curious to learn more about Ms. Terrise and the characters she portrayed, or maybe the agency and intent that Duke and Sons put behind their production. Editor: A fascinating object. It holds, within its tiny frame, layers of symbolism and societal aspirations, as hazy and thought-provoking as, well, a plume of cigarette smoke.