Miss Allen, from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-8) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Duke Cigarettes 1890 - 1895

Editor: Here we have a photograph titled "Miss Allen, from the Actors and Actresses series," dating from around 1890-1895, produced by W. Duke, Sons & Co. as a cigarette card. It's a sepia-toned portrait, quite small. What do you make of it? Curator: It's fascinating to consider these cigarette cards as a form of early mass media and celebrity culture. They weren’t just advertisements; they circulated images and ideals about beauty, status, and performance. What strikes you about Miss Allen herself? Editor: The formality of her dress and pose contrasts with the ephemerality of its original function; I mean, it's literally a throwaway item! Curator: Exactly! The image becomes divorced from its original context. It raises interesting questions about how these images were consumed and what roles these actresses played in shaping public opinion, beauty standards, or desires. Do you see anything interesting about the way she's portrayed? Editor: She is holding what seems to be a hand fan and looks away from the camera, gazing pensively, almost wistfully, to the side. Her adornments suggest she’s successful, yet this is still essentially an advertisement. Curator: Consider how her gaze, her attire, and the fan – all carefully curated – were intended to create a certain aspirational image for the cigarette brand's consumers. In a way, the act of collecting and displaying these cards mirrored the consumer's own aspirations. The political economy of desire, mediated by these objects, is fascinating, isn't it? Editor: It really is. I hadn’t considered the wider implications of something as seemingly trivial as a cigarette card. Curator: It illustrates how even everyday images are embedded in cultural and economic networks.