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

Curator: What a find! We're looking at "Carrie Behr, from the Actors and Actresses series (N171) for Old Judge Cigarettes," a photographic print dating from 1886 to 1890. It was produced by Goodwin & Company. Editor: Oh, there's such an appealing softness here! She looks a bit wistful, draped in ornamentation that evokes both extravagance and… fragility. The albumen print gives it an almost sepia dreamlike aura. Curator: Indeed. It's a product of its time, created as a promotional item. Goodwin & Co. inserted these cards into their Old Judge Cigarette packs. Imagine, a small piece of popular culture designed to be collected. Editor: So, the commercial context shapes everything. Knowing it was mass-produced for cigarettes lends a cynical tinge. It disrupts any lingering fantasy of old-world romance. I wonder what Ms. Behr felt about all of this. Did she consider this portrait art, work or exploitation? Curator: Interesting. The chair design itself also suggests some layers, structurally providing some support as well as visual support by completing the visual representation of power and spectacle around Behr. Editor: Yes, power seems crucial here. While at first she reads demurely with that up-turned glance and light smile, there is no doubt that we, and indeed the cigarette smoker are meant to see her beauty as both powerful and obtainable. Curator: Quite right! Although diminutive in scale and commercial by design, there's an undeniably enchanting quality, and this photograph functions as a signifier. An artifact of a bygone era in advertising and a time where social identities and fame intertwined. Editor: Absolutely. It also strikes me now as less nostalgic or even "old-fashioned" but really incredibly modern in its use of an actress for commercial advertisement. Thanks to her stance, her semi-erotic gaze, Behr created the template of so much art and advertisement that would follow in the coming decades. Curator: What a thoughtful summation of this curious albumen print! It shows the evolution of photographic portraiture in relation to media. Editor: Well, I think we've given Old Judge Cigarettes a lot more thought than they ever expected.