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

This is "Willonyby," a photograph from the Actors and Actresses series created by Goodwin & Company for Old Judge Cigarettes. Notice the sepia tone of the image, lending a sense of historical distance. The actress is captured mid-pose, her arms outstretched, holding a draped cloth. The composition is straightforward, almost frontal, yet the figure is off-center, creating a subtle tension. The photograph's flatness underscores its nature as a commodity, a collectible item packaged with cigarettes. However, within this commercial context, the image also functions as a sign, an index of celebrity and performance. Willonyby's theatrical pose, her gaze directed away from the viewer, engages with spectacle. Yet the image remains strangely mute. Consider how the photograph, as a sign, functions within a broader cultural discourse, inviting us to decode its layers of meaning and question the relationship between image, commodity, and representation.