Ada Rehan, from the Actresses series (N203) issued by Wm. S. Kimball & Co. 1889

Editor: Here we have an 1889 photographic print called *Ada Rehan*, part of the "Actresses" series by William S. Kimball & Co. There’s a softness to the image, despite its being a commercial cigarette card, and Rehan's gaze feels so direct. What do you see in it? Curator: Ah, yes, a little slip of a thing carrying such presence! It's interesting how these cards, essentially advertisements, immortalized actresses like Ada Rehan. She was quite the star. I think of the ephemerality of the theatre, how fleeting a performance is, then these little portraits offering a kind of permanence, albeit tied to a product. The soft sepia tones give it a dreamy quality. Does that strike you, too? A little portal into another time? Editor: Absolutely! It’s that contrast, isn’t it? Something so delicate preserved through a mass-produced item. I never really thought of cigarette cards in that light. Curator: And there's Rehan's expression, too – knowing, perhaps a touch melancholic? Does it speak of performance? Or her role as an ‘object’ on display? And consider the consumer holding this card... Do you think it shaped their perception of Ada Rehan? Perhaps theatre itself? Editor: I think that’s fascinating. The cigarette company almost curated the experience, right? Creating not only the photograph but influencing how people thought of these women! Curator: Precisely! The line between art and advertising blurs so wonderfully here, I'd argue! Editor: I never would have seen all those layers if we hadn’t talked. Thanks! Curator: My pleasure! Now I’m craving a play…and maybe giving up smoking.