Lili Rupp, from the Actresses series (N67) promoting Virginia Brights Cigarettes for Allen & Ginter brand tobacco products 1885 - 1893

Curator: Oh, I find this absolutely darling. Lili Rupp, captured in sepia tones, her gaze just drifting past us, lost in thought. It’s like a faded dream. Editor: Indeed. This portrait of Lili Rupp is actually one from the “Actresses” series (N67) published between 1885 and 1893 to promote Virginia Brights Cigarettes, from the Allen & Ginter brand tobacco products. Quite the departure from contemporary advertising aesthetics, wouldn't you say? Curator: A bit incongruous, perhaps? Linking artistry to tobacco. Yet there’s an innocence here, a quiet beauty… a timelessness that transcends its intended purpose. I imagine she possessed a rare luminosity, the kind that catches fire behind a camera’s lens. Editor: Precisely. These cards represent a fascinating intersection of popular culture and commercial strategy in the late 19th century. By associating their brand with actresses and performers, Allen & Ginter elevated the image of cigarettes, turning them into objects of desire and symbols of sophistication. It speaks volumes about how imagery shapes our desires. Curator: Did it work though, this association of beauty and a rather… dirty habit? And who was Lili Rupp, actually? The face is certainly arresting; I'm left imagining what she dreamt about. What about that sternum of a blouse, the strong lines hinting at a determination I cannot quite grasp from her wistful expression. Editor: Whether it worked is up for debate, I think it clearly targeted the aspiring middle class eager for a new sense of what modernity might look like. Little else is documented, that much is true; and sadly, Lili Rupp, the person, seems almost lost in this. But it speaks, nonetheless, to how quickly individual identities get co-opted and then submerged in mass consumer culture. It reminds us of the ephemerality of fame. Curator: Hmm… submerged is the exact feeling. Lost in the sepia, almost beyond reach, yet… beautiful. Something lingering about that gentle glance that pulls the eye closer. A curious fragment that reminds me the past is anything but static. Editor: Indeed. These objects are conduits, really, inviting us to examine the historical forces at play and how we interpret them. We get this snapshot, in New York at the Met; Allen & Ginter; and somewhere in the ether still, Lili Rupp, almost.