Mrs. Langtry in Peasant's Costume of European Turkey from the 13th and 14th Centuries, from the set Actors and Actresses, First Series (N70) for Duke brand cigarettes 1888 - 1889

This color lithograph created by W. Duke, Sons & Co. presents Mrs. Langtry in what is described as a peasant's costume of European Turkey from the 13th and 14th centuries. Observe the headscarf, a deep blue adorned with golden emblems. Such a covering is not merely fabric but a signifier of identity, of modesty, and perhaps even of resistance. This motif of the headscarf, can be traced back through countless epochs and cultures. Think of the veils of Byzantine empresses or the humble kerchiefs of medieval peasant women. The headscarf is a fascinating site of cultural memory, isn’t it? A symbol that mutates, adapts, and yet retains a core essence. Here, it speaks of a certain romanticism of the ‘folk,’ a yearning for a simpler, perhaps idealized past. Consider how this garment, intended to conceal, paradoxically reveals so much about cultural anxieties and desires. It is through these gestures, these visual echoes across time, that we begin to understand the profound, often subconscious, ways in which images speak to us.