Card Number 169, The Mikado, from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-2) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Cross Cut Cigarettes 1880s

Curator: Oh my, look at this old photograph. It feels like a faded dream, doesn't it? There’s a strange allure in these sepia tones. Editor: Indeed. This is card number 169 from the Actors and Actresses series, dating back to the 1880s. It was created by W. Duke, Sons & Co. to advertise their Cross Cut Cigarettes. Titled "The Mikado," it depicts three women dressed, or rather costumed, in what appears to be a very Westernized version of Japanese attire. Curator: "The Mikado"! That instantly brings to mind Gilbert and Sullivan, a cultural tidal wave of Japonisme in England… it definitely looks like some fantastical version of Japan filtered through a theatrical lens. They're all holding fans, and their expressions are… intriguing. Like they’re in on a secret. It’s slightly unsettling. Editor: And it's unsettling because of its Orientalist gaze. These images were widely circulated and consumed, constructing a very specific, often inaccurate and romanticized, vision of the "Orient." The attire is clearly staged, and the photograph participates in a larger historical pattern of cultural appropriation and exoticization of Asian cultures. These women, likely white actresses, become symbols within this performance. Curator: You're so right. It does raise all sorts of uncomfortable questions. But looking at the technical side, I do love the texture achieved with this photographic print. The way the light catches the fabrics, despite being so monochrome...there’s depth. Do you think it consciously alludes to Ukiyo-e prints, with its focus on fashionable figures? Editor: I think that is partly its purpose. Japonisme deeply informed visual culture at the time. However, what we need to address is that Ukiyo-e, and Japanese art forms, served merely as aesthetic inspiration within a colonial framework. What gets lost is an actual understanding or respect for the source culture. This is reduced to a marketing ploy, perpetuating power imbalances through these commercial images. Curator: Hmmm, a potent reminder. It’s so easy to be seduced by surface beauty. This small cigarette card really encapsulates a huge, messy tangle of cultural exchange and exploitation. Editor: Precisely. Analyzing this object requires that we hold both appreciation for the visual artifact, while critically examining the embedded historical power dynamics at play.