Card Number 361, Carrie Perkins, from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-5) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Cameo Cigarettes 1880s

Editor: This is a striking albumen print from the 1880s, "Card Number 361, Carrie Perkins" from the Actors and Actresses series by W. Duke, Sons & Co., initially an advertisement for cigarettes. The photo has an almost ethereal quality due to its age and sepia tones. What stands out to you about this piece? Curator: What immediately grabs my attention is the commodification of labor represented here. Perkins's image, her persona, becomes a marketing tool—raw material transformed into a sellable object. Editor: So, it's not just about the image itself, but the broader system it's embedded in? Curator: Precisely. We see the collision of the entertainment industry, the tobacco industry, and photographic reproduction technology. How did mass-produced images change our perception of celebrity and, furthermore, female labor? Who exactly profited from the distribution? Did she even know this was happening? Editor: That brings up some interesting ethical considerations regarding image rights at the time. Was Perkins fairly compensated, if at all, for her image being used this way? Curator: An essential question. Moreover, look at the albumen print process itself—a complex chemical procedure turning light-sensitive material into an image. What kind of labor was involved in printing these cards on a mass scale? What were the working conditions? What can this portrait tell us about turn-of-the-century mass marketing practices? Editor: I never considered the actual production process so deeply before. It is intriguing how the choice of materials and industrial forces ultimately shape how we view this “celebrity” photograph today. Curator: Thinking about it this way reframes our entire perception; it asks us to challenge traditional art historical approaches that tend to favor aesthetic appreciation over critical social examination. Editor: This really broadens the context, looking beyond the surface of the portrait into the networks of labor, material culture, and power at play. Thanks for making me aware!