Lillie Blowfrom the Actresses series (N203) issued by Wm. S. Kimball & Co. 1889

Curator: Looking at this petite photographic print, I immediately feel transported to a smoky, turn-of-the-century parlor, all dimmed lights and secretive smiles. There’s a melancholic charm to it, don’t you think? Editor: Indeed! Let’s situate this object. This is a cabinet card from 1889, "Lillie Blow," part of the Actresses series (N203), issued by Wm. S. Kimball & Co. – yes, the cigarette company. Kimball distributed these cards in cigarette packs. It’s presently held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Curator: Cigarette cards! Ah, such a quaint, brazen method of advertising. Lillie’s pose certainly lends itself to the… allure, let’s call it, of that bygone era. She looks half-bored, half-inviting. Is it me, or is there a slight air of theatricality to it all? Editor: Absolutely theatrical, which makes perfect sense considering it is from an Actresses series. The distribution methods also offer clues about shifting popular tastes at the time. Tobacco companies, by embedding collectable images within their product packaging, were very much crafting an appeal directly aimed towards broader public accessibility and aspirational values. Curator: Makes you wonder how much agency Lillie Blow herself had in the process. Was she in on the joke? Or merely a product, literally and figuratively? Editor: A pivotal question, and difficult to answer definitively, though most likely more in the later role. The “erotic art” tag suggests an effort at pushing boundaries—at least subtly. Curator: It's captivating to consider the dual lives these images led, nestled amongst tobacco, gazed upon in private moments, becoming both an object of desire and a small, fleeting piece of popular culture. I wonder if Lillie ever imagined her image would find its way into a museum. Editor: It does underscore the rather circuitous routes that images traverse across the terrains of commerce, culture, and finally, institutional validation, no? A humble cigarette card, now residing within the hallowed halls of art history. I think its narrative speaks volumes about what we choose to collect, to preserve, and ultimately, to value.