Card Number 211, Marie Burroughs, from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-7) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Duke Cigarettes 1880s

Editor: This is an advertisement card from the 1880s for Duke Cigarettes, featuring the actress Marie Burroughs. The image, sepia-toned and delicate, captures Burroughs seated, gazing calmly. What sort of cultural context can we apply to understand this work? Curator: Think about what symbols resonate within us, even unconsciously. The presence of an actress on a cigarette card…it's layered. Consider what Burroughs represented: femininity, performance, aspiration. Then think about what cigarettes symbolized at the time: modernity, leisure, perhaps even rebellion. Do you see how these symbols intertwined to create a potent message? Editor: So, it’s more than just advertising a product? The image itself carries meaning beyond that. Curator: Precisely! Burroughs isn't merely selling cigarettes; she is lending her fame, her beauty, and, by extension, her implied social status, to the product. The floral patterns on her dress and the carved chair she sits on further elaborate the message of refinement and luxury that would speak to its intended consumers. Can you discern anything in her facial expression? Editor: She looks poised and perhaps slightly detached, as if observing from a distance. Is that detachment a reflection of something larger? Curator: Indeed. Think of the late 19th century, a time of burgeoning consumerism. Celebrities like Burroughs became both accessible and unattainable. Her gaze, aloof yet engaging, embodies this tension. It's an invitation, promising that *you*, too, can share in this lifestyle if you partake in Duke Cigarettes. What emotional feeling emanates from her pose? Editor: I see elegance and restraint… a carefully crafted image. Curator: And that crafted image speaks volumes. It reflects the carefully constructed image of the era itself. Think of all that went into this small, mass-produced card—the choices of model, attire, pose, composition, font. And all of it contributing to cultural memory and aspiration. Editor: That's fascinating; it really highlights the complexity hidden within what seems like a simple advertisement. Curator: Exactly. Even something as ephemeral as a cigarette card can act as a portal into a past era, revealing deeper truths about its values and anxieties.