Cora Tisch, from the Actors and Actresses series (N45, Type 1) for Virginia Brights Cigarettes 1885 - 1891

This is Cora Tisch, from the Actors and Actresses series for Virginia Brights Cigarettes, made by Allen & Ginter. It’s a small card, printed with an image of the actress. The chromolithography process used here was cutting edge at the time, able to produce multiple colors in high resolution. The image of Cora Tisch seems delicate, a far cry from the mechanical process and the broader social context for which it was made. These cards were essentially promotional ephemera, included in cigarette packs to encourage collecting and brand loyalty. The intense labor required for both tobacco farming and the printing of these cards is largely invisible, yet central to the image's existence. The actress, the workers, the consumers – all bound together in this small rectangle of paper. By looking closely at the material and the modes of production, we realize that even the most apparently trivial objects are connected to larger systems of labor, politics, and consumption. The historical context and means of production are crucial to understanding the object's full significance.