Fannie Rice, from the Actresses series (N245) issued by Kinney Brothers to promote Sweet Caporal Cigarettes 1890

Curator: This is Fannie Rice, from the Actresses series, created around 1890 by the Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company. It's an albumen print, originally issued to promote Sweet Caporal Cigarettes. What’s your initial read on this image? Editor: Oh, it's captivating. There’s something dreamy and romantic about it. It feels like peering into a nostalgic sepia-toned world. Curator: The composition directs the gaze immediately towards her face. Notice the delicate balance of light and shadow. The albumen print, known for its clarity and fine detail, captures the texture of her dress, hat, and the backdrop, contributing to the visual depth. The format suggests its role as a collectible—ephemeral yet enduring. Editor: There's almost a fragility to it, despite being a promotional item. You can almost smell the faint whiff of cigarettes accompanying the image back then. But beyond the commercial aspect, there's a raw human quality; the pose, her expression, there is something deeply personal being communicated. Curator: The context, certainly, shifts our understanding. However, I'm compelled by how the structure of the portrait employs deliberate lines that create a triangular focal point from her head down to her body. This guides our reading. The technical considerations involved in the printing process also affected the tonality, which in turn establishes a distinct atmosphere. Editor: Perhaps her gaze carries the unspoken aspirations and hopes of many actresses from that era, bottled up in this image. Looking closer, you wonder about the life she led off-stage. It gives you pause. What survives in this paper relic goes beyond pure commerce or celebrity. It offers a connection—tenuous yet potent—to a singular moment in history. Curator: It serves as an intriguing example of the intersection between commercial art and portraiture; the photograph stands as a structured artifact as well as a time capsule holding the aesthetic and cultural codes of its time. Editor: Absolutely, the blend of commerce, art and society all colliding into a singular image; food for the muses for sure. A lovely glimpse of history, wouldn't you agree?