Card Number 738, Louise des Maiets, from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-3) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Cross Cut Cigarettes 1880s

This card, dating from the late 19th century, was made by W. Duke, Sons & Co. to promote Cross Cut Cigarettes. It's from a series featuring actors and actresses, and printed using photolithography, a method that allowed for mass production. The card’s surface is smooth, a result of the printing process, but it also has a sepia tone lending it an antique feel. The image of Louise des Maiets, a performer, captures a moment of staged spontaneity. The photographic image would have been translated onto a lithographic stone or plate, and then printed in thousands of copies. This was a cutting-edge technique at the time, but it was also highly industrial. The card is just one small artifact of a booming tobacco industry, and is a reminder of how celebrity and commerce could be intertwined through new printing technologies. It’s a powerful example of how the mass production of images reshaped both art and advertising, blurring the lines between them.