Irene Perry, from World's Beauties, Series 2 (N27) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes 1888

Curator: What a find. This is a small, but telling artifact titled "Irene Perry, from World's Beauties, Series 2 (N27) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes," created in 1888. You can currently find it at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Editor: Immediately, I'm struck by the intimate scale and somewhat saccharine rendering. The coloring feels so specific to late 19th century aesthetics. Curator: Indeed. Allen & Ginter were major tobacco manufacturers who popularized the use of collectible cards like this one in their cigarette packs. Consider the materials: a chromolithograph, a mass-produced print, tucked into packs of cigarettes. These cards weren't just art; they were part of a larger system of marketing and consumer culture, blurring the line between art and advertising. Editor: Absolutely. Beyond its material context, look at the way Irene Perry is portrayed. That determined gaze and the medal around her neck hints at some kind of achievement. Those types of images played a role in constructing ideals of femininity and aspiration. Perhaps these beauties were chosen for traits they were believed to possess, acting as symbolic objects of their day. Curator: And how interesting to find this drawing printed using coloured pencil marks to add vibrancy to it. Editor: True, even the act of choosing women deemed "beautiful" from different walks of life and placing them on these cards...It says something about cultural values at the time and also speaks to who was being seen, and who wasn't. A lot is conveyed here! Curator: Well, seeing it from a Materialist’s view gives us a different perspective, looking at the material and context in which the artist worked on the art piece, versus looking at the icons and interpreting them gives different insights to the artwork itself. Editor: Precisely, it just underlines the layers of meaning embedded in even the most seemingly simple image, it allows us to consider this woman as part of the historical framework!