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

This is Ray Vernon, from the Actresses series, a photograph made by the Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company. It was issued as a promotional item for Sweet Caporal Cigarettes. These cards were a product of their time. They reflect a period when the burgeoning advertising industry capitalized on the allure of celebrity. Actresses, like Ray Vernon, were presented as ideals of beauty and sophistication, subtly linking their glamour to the consumption of tobacco. But there's also an element of performance here. Vernon, posed and adorned, embodies a constructed image of femininity. How much of this is self-representation, and how much is dictated by the male gaze of the Kinney Brothers? What does it mean to have your image commodified in this way? This card serves as a potent reminder of the complex interplay between commerce, identity, and representation in the late 19th century. It asks us to consider how we consume images, and the stories they tell about ourselves and others.