Florence, from the Actors and Actresses series (N171) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1886 - 1890

Editor: This is a print from between 1886 and 1890, “Florence, from the Actors and Actresses series (N171) for Old Judge Cigarettes," made by Goodwin & Company. The image depicts a woman in theatrical garb. The image is sepia-toned, creating an aged aesthetic. It feels performative. What's your take on it? Curator: What I see is a fascinating convergence of performance, commodification, and gender within the late 19th-century context. It's part of a larger series used to sell cigarettes, placing actresses, and thus female performance, directly into the marketplace. Think about how it uses ideas of femininity. Does she appear empowered, or is she merely an object of spectacle? Editor: I hadn't really considered that. The cigarette advertisement aspect makes it more complicated. Was this image, and others like it, intended for a male gaze? Curator: Absolutely. These cards were predominantly marketed toward men. It perpetuated certain ideas about femininity. Actresses, often figures of both fascination and moral ambiguity, were packaged and consumed alongside tobacco. We might also consider the influence of Japonisme on the design and the performative nature of the photograph itself. Does the theatrical costume exoticize Florence in a similar way to depictions of women in Japonisme? Editor: It's interesting how a simple cigarette card can open up so many avenues for discussion about gender, marketing, and cultural perceptions! Curator: Precisely! It shows us how even seemingly innocuous images can reveal intricate layers of social and cultural meaning when viewed critically through an intersectional lens. Editor: This has completely changed my understanding of the piece. Now I see the layers beneath the surface that I didn't before.