[Actress standing with hand on hip], from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-8) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Duke Cigarettes 1890 - 1895

Editor: So, here we have "[Actress standing with hand on hip]" from around 1890-1895 by W. Duke, Sons & Co., it's a photographic print used for cigarette cards. What a cool artifact! I’m curious – the actress seems to be playing a male role, or at least dressing in very non-feminine attire of the era. What can we unpack from that? Curator: Excellent observation! It’s fascinating how clothing carries symbolic weight, isn’t it? While the surface shows us a woman in costume, consider the cultural context. Actresses frequently played male roles on stage. Think about what that signals – challenging gender norms, blurring lines. What kind of emotional impact might that have on the audiences of that time? Editor: I guess it could be subversive, showing women in positions of power even if it's just pretend. Is that what made these cards so popular? Curator: Precisely! Popular culture is never just innocent entertainment. It's a stage where societal anxieties and desires play out. The "masculine" attire--the implied sword or dagger on her hip, for instance--doesn't necessarily empower her in the sense we would understand it today. It places her within a pre-established framework of idealized heroes and performative strength that was, at the time, a traditionally male domain. Can you see hints of Japonisme here, too, influencing the presentation of the figure? Editor: Oh, yeah! Now that you mention it, the almost flattened perspective and theatricality give me a sense of Japanese woodblock prints, in a way. Curator: And think about the intimate scale of a cigarette card. These images weren't meant to be displayed grandly, but consumed privately. What sort of fantasies or role play might they have facilitated? Editor: Wow, I didn’t think there were so many layers to explore within one little card! Curator: Exactly! An image is never just an image; it's a mirror reflecting culture. Editor: I'll never look at these cards the same way again. Thanks!