Card Number 624, Laura Burt, from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-3) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Cross Cut Cigarettes 1880s

This card featuring Laura Burt comes from a series of promotional images for Cross Cut Cigarettes, issued by Duke Sons & Co. in the late 19th century. These cards exemplify how commercial interests infiltrated popular culture during the Gilded Age in the United States. The photograph constructs Burt as both an object of desire and a symbol of refined taste. Note her theatrical costume, which alludes to the world of entertainment and leisure, while the cigarette brand associates itself with that glamorous lifestyle. The composition, staging and lighting invite the viewer into a world of aspiration. These cards, distributed with tobacco products, were a form of advertising that capitalized on the growing popularity of both photography and celebrity culture. Analyzing these cards reminds us that the power of art and representation is always contingent on social and institutional contexts. Further research into the history of advertising and consumer culture of the time would shed more light on this image.