Card 273, Miss Milwood, from the Actors and Actresses series (N45, Type 1) for Virginia Brights Cigarettes 1885 - 1891

This is "Card 273, Miss Milwood," made by Allen & Ginter for Virginia Brights Cigarettes. It's a small printed card, part of a series featuring actors and actresses, and was included in cigarette packs as a promotional item. The card is made through industrial printing processes; likely lithography, which allowed for mass production and subtle tonal variations. These cards weren't considered high art, but rather ephemeral objects, part of the burgeoning consumer culture. Yet, consider the social context. The tobacco industry, reliant on exploited labor, used these cards to build brand loyalty and associate smoking with glamour. The photographic image of Miss Milwood, and countless others like her, became a commodity, circulated widely to encourage sales. These small cards are examples of how images, manufacturing, and marketing were intertwined, reflecting broader issues of labor, class, and consumption at the turn of the century. They prompt us to consider what we value, and how production shapes our perceptions.