Actress wearing blue cap with pink feather, from Stars of the Stage, First Series (N129) issued by W. Duke, Sons & Co. to promote Honest Long Cut Tobacco 1890

This vibrant card, printed between 1870 and 1920 by W. Duke, Sons & Co., features an actress adorned with a feathered cap, and was issued to promote Honest Long Cut Tobacco. The card relies on chromolithography, a printing technique that uses multiple lithographic stones, each applying a different color ink. The process allowed for mass production of colorful images, making them accessible to a wide audience. The surface of the card is smooth, the colors carefully layered to create depth and detail. The choice of subject matter, an actress, speaks to the rising popularity of celebrity culture at the time, and its use in advertising. The image’s appeal lies not just in the actress’s beauty, but also in the allure of the stage, of artifice and performance. Cards like this blur the lines between art, advertising, and commodity, reminding us that even seemingly simple images are the result of complex industrial processes and cultural forces.