Card 441, Miss Rosevelt, from the Actors and Actresses series (N45, Type 1) for Virginia Brights Cigarettes 1885 - 1891

Curator: The dreaminess of this print just washes over me! What a captivating portrait. Editor: Indeed. What we’re seeing here is “Card 441, Miss Rosevelt” from the Actors and Actresses series created by Allen & Ginter between 1885 and 1891, now residing at The Met. It’s an albumen print, originally a promotional insert for Virginia Brights Cigarettes. Curator: A cigarette card! Oh, how glamorous. I find the sepia tone lends this photo such a nostalgic air. It really makes me think about old movies, silent films. Editor: It certainly romanticizes a particular image of women. It’s interesting how these cards were meant to promote consumer culture, yet they also inadvertently documented a certain ideal of femininity, mainly that of white women. We should also note the problematic roots of tobacco and how intertwined this history is with enslaved and exploited labor. Curator: The lace detail is lovely. You can see its intricate design, like a whisper of a dream caught on film. Miss Rosevelt has a wonderfully wistful gaze, doesn't she? What was she thinking? Editor: Perhaps about the male gaze that constructed her very image. Advertising like this sold more than cigarettes. It promoted exclusivity and created gendered norms—beauty, performance, and a tacit compliance within a patriarchal structure. These cigarette cards became collectible objects that propagated not only an aesthetic, but a whole socio-political system. Curator: Well, no one told me it was a downer tour today! Still, seeing her like this is amazing, an almost lost world captured on a tiny card. The curve of her jaw, that hint of shadow—pure poetry, isn't it? Editor: Exactly. Poetry that reflects not only beauty, but also power, representation, and the commercial forces at play. This little card speaks volumes if we’re willing to listen critically. Curator: It certainly makes one contemplate the story behind her wistful look! Thank you. Editor: My pleasure, thank you for inviting a nuanced reflection on images and context.