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

Editor: Here we have "Tennie Pool, from the Actresses series," created around 1890 by the Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company. It looks like a print, perhaps even a photograph used for promotional cards. There’s a performative mood here, with the pose and costume… what are your initial thoughts on this work? Curator: You know, when I look at this, I see a fascinating crossroads of performance, celebrity culture, and burgeoning commercialism. It feels both intimate and strangely distant, doesn’t it? Tennie Pool was likely a well-known actress, but here she is, reduced to a name attached to cigarettes. Doesn't that make you pause? Editor: Absolutely. It’s like seeing an early version of celebrity endorsements. But aesthetically, I’m drawn to the Art Nouveau influences… Curator: Yes! See how her pose, with the raised arms and the slight tilt of her head, almost mimics the curving lines you'd find in Art Nouveau motifs? It’s subtly seductive, drawing you in. What do you make of her costume? Editor: I’m noticing that she is wearing something theatrical that suggests it is maybe Renaissance inspired and a little bit like harlequin. I suppose that, along with her facial expression, is communicating that she is an actress. What would viewers at the time have understood that this card might suggest about them? Curator: Well, possessing this card would have linked them to glamour, the theater, and implicitly, a certain level of sophistication—or at least, the *desire* for it. It's a tangible connection to a world otherwise inaccessible to most. What’s more potent, do you think, the image or the cigarette? Editor: That’s a great question! It really highlights how art, even in this commercial context, reflects and shapes cultural values. I guess it makes me realize how long the art of persuasion has been around. Curator: Indeed! It leaves me pondering the ethics of early advertising, particularly how it uses art and celebrity to shape desires. Food for thought, eh?