Card Number 330, Lizzie Hughes, from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-5) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Cameo Cigarettes 1880s

This is a promotional card for Duke’s Cameo Cigarettes, featuring actress Lizzie Hughes, printed around the turn of the century. Her relaxed pose, leaning casually against a chair, reflects a shifting social attitude towards women in the public sphere. This pose echoes images of reclining female figures found throughout art history, from ancient Greek sculptures of goddesses to courtesans in Renaissance paintings. There is a lineage of representing the female form in repose, often associating it with notions of leisure, beauty, and allure. The act of reclining can be seen in different contexts, such as mourning figures on sarcophagi, where a similar gesture conveys grief and introspection. Through cultural memory, such poses are not static but change, shifting their meaning depending on the cultural, social, and personal circumstances. These expressions, deeply rooted in our subconscious, continue to engage us, reminding us of the enduring power of symbolic expression.