Card Number 54, Miss Lowe, from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-2) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Cross Cut Cigarettes 1880s

This is Card Number 54, Miss Lowe, from the Actors and Actresses series, printed by W. Duke, Sons & Co. at the turn of the century. It's a lithograph, one of many that were included in packets of Cross Cut Cigarettes. The card's sepia tones and flat surface are products of the printing process. Lithography allowed for mass production, fitting with the mass consumption of goods like cigarettes. But the image also reflects a hierarchy. Here we have the actress Miss Lowe, posing in what was likely an elaborate studio setting. This image would have required labor too – photographers, printers, factory workers to assemble the cigarette packs, distributors, and vendors. What we see here is a complex interplay of fame, commerce, and labor. While Miss Lowe enjoyed a certain status, her image became a commodity, reduced to a collectible included with a cheap, addictive product. The card challenges any clear distinction between high and low culture, or art and advertising. It is all of those things at once, a little card with big implications.