Georgie Blake, From the Actors and Actresses series (N45, Type 1) for Virginia Brights Cigarettes 1885 - 1891

Curator: This albumen print, part of a series titled "From the Actors and Actresses series" dating from 1885-1891 by Allen & Ginter, presents Georgie Blake. These cards were originally distributed with Virginia Brights Cigarettes. Editor: It's striking how faded it is, almost like a ghost image. The monochrome, sepia tones contribute to that ethereal quality, hinting at forgotten eras and, obviously, the deterioration inherent in the material. Curator: These were mass-produced items. These cards became enormously popular and reveal a deliberate marketing strategy to promote cigarettes by associating them with the glamour of theatrical celebrity. The material is, I suppose, key to understanding how these images became so widespread. Editor: What really grabs me is how the imagery blends into this almost classical setting. What might initially appear as risqué by period standards quickly transforms under the artistic influence into something resembling antiquity. It's like the echoes of nymphs or goddesses in some bacchanal relief! What would otherwise feel voyeuristic transforms into myth-making through careful contextualisation. Curator: The commodification of performance through these prints allowed working-class individuals to own a tangible piece of celebrity, altering and affecting their perceived social reality. It raises interesting questions about labor: Blake's performance, the labor involved in photography and printing, and finally, the work, or labor, performed by consumers as they assembled and traded these cards. Editor: Absolutely. There's something fascinatingly performative here: The staging of her performance echoes not just what would appeal on the cigarette cards, but is deliberately classical to add sophistication—making us, now, consider what and whom it's aimed at through these symbols. Curator: These seemingly innocuous commercial ephemera demonstrate the deep interconnectedness between material production, consumption habits, and the social circulation of fame during this era. Editor: Ultimately, observing how those images shift context becomes its legacy; more interesting than tobacco, their intended commercial tie-in—Georgie Blake becomes an archetype existing on the surface as image.