John Henshaw, from the Actresses series (N245) issued by Kinney Brothers to promote Sweet Caporal Cigarettes 1890

Editor: Here we have "John Henshaw, from the Actresses series," a photographic print from around 1890, produced by Kinney Brothers to advertise Sweet Caporal Cigarettes. It's fascinating how something seemingly ephemeral like advertising could become a historical artifact. What strikes you most about this piece? Curator: What grabs me is precisely that interplay, the unexpected survival of the image. It was born as product packaging, cheap, disposable, designed to drive consumption of cigarettes. Yet here it is, framed and analyzed. How did the material circumstances of its production – the photographic techniques, the printing process, the labour involved in mass-producing these cards – contribute to its aesthetic? Editor: I never thought about the labor! What do you mean? Curator: Think of the layers: growing the tobacco, manufacturing the cigarettes, printing the card, distributing the product. All these activities were underpinned by specific social relations of the time. We see this image of Henshaw, but don't easily see how consumer capitalism made it all possible. Editor: It’s interesting to consider the portrait itself then as a commodity too, not just as a promotional tool. Curator: Precisely! The “Actresses series” turns the performers into objects of desire, promoting a specific lifestyle associated with leisure, luxury, and, of course, cigarettes. The material is inextricably bound up with the ideological. Consider the paper, the ink, the way these were combined to manufacture an aspiration. Editor: So, it's more than just a picture; it's a product deeply embedded in the social and economic fabric of its time. Thinking about it that way really shifts my perspective. Thanks for pointing that out! Curator: Absolutely. Understanding the means of production allows us to truly unpack its cultural meaning, seeing how it reflects and reinforces prevailing values and patterns of consumption.