Mlle. Vivian, Paris, from the Actors and Actresses series (N171) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1886 - 1890

Curator: Let’s discuss “Mlle. Vivian, Paris,” a photogravure print created between 1886 and 1890 by Goodwin & Company as part of a series for Old Judge Cigarettes. My immediate thought goes to its surprising intimacy, given its commercial origins. There's a boldness, an almost defiant gaze. Editor: The materiality speaks to an interesting tension: High-art process meeting low-art purpose. The etching creates a fine texture but here it's advertising tobacco. We should talk about how Goodwin & Company created a collectible within mass-produced goods. Curator: I'm drawn to her costume. The exoticized garb references Orientalist tropes common at the time. Consider the cultural impact this imagery had; not just entertainment, but a kind of psychological commodification of "the other." Editor: Right. Mass-produced image meeting specific consumer. So, who was Mlle. Vivian? And were the other figures in this N171 series also photographed by Goodwin & Company in their New York studio, or perhaps the process involved a traveling set, exotic props carted from place to place. It speaks to the labor required. Curator: Indeed! I notice also her posture— the arched back, slightly tilted head—suggest an assertive feminine agency, defying the patriarchal gaze we often see in portrayals of female performers. Her raised arm invites, yet simultaneously blocks access. A loaded image to be selling cigarettes with... Editor: Exactly. Consumption at so many levels here. She's consuming our gaze. We're consuming this photograph on a tobacco product. The labor is obscured in all that too. One print pulled by an anonymous hand is infinitely reproduced. Curator: I hadn't quite framed it that way. I leave our listeners with the enduring enigma of "Mlle. Vivian, Paris". A single ephemeral object revealing deeper layers of psychological intrigue and historical representation. Editor: A reminder that the things we handle, especially mass produced things, carry more history of making, distribution, and, yes, even performance than meets the eye.