Emma Ward Wright, from the Actresses series (N245) issued by Kinney Brothers to promote Sweet Caporal Cigarettes 1890

Curator: There's an ethereal quality to this photographic print. It's of Emma Ward Wright, an actress, from the "Actresses" series created by the Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company around 1890. Editor: It definitely captures a performative ideal, doesn’t it? Her pose is so deliberate, with her hands gesturing as though on stage. And the light… almost reverential. It speaks to the late Victorian obsession with idealised beauty and romanticized representation. Curator: Precisely. These cards were inserted into Sweet Caporal cigarette packs as collectibles. In that context, they were a mass produced commodity, aimed at solidifying brand loyalty. Think about how tobacco companies became some of the biggest promoters of actresses’ images. Editor: Right. But what is the symbolic power behind this image? Consider the flowers adorning her costume and her hat, aren’t they symbols of a fresh beauty? The gesture towards something just out of grasp speaks to this… she seems to reach for an ethereal reward or for inspiration itself, beyond the scope of commercial representation. The composition directs your gaze upwards towards this aspiration, even… Curator: Yes, I do see that, even with the commercial purpose in mind. But these images functioned as more than just advertisements. They democratized access to celebrity culture, distributing portraits of popular actresses to the masses. In a way, it's an early form of the cult of celebrity we see today. This piece exists within the transition of performance culture from something highbrow and exclusive to popular and accessible entertainment. Editor: What do you mean by that transition precisely? The picture presents to me, and likely to its audience in the past, an emotional core that moves far beyond entertainment, if you understand my point. I suppose it represents the capacity of visual symbols, however simple they may appear at first, to convey complex sets of cultural memories, ideas, emotions. She is in the act, representing so much more. Curator: Fair point. Analyzing pieces like this really allows you to see the power and influence commercial imagery has on cultural values. It's not just a pretty picture but rather a small mirror to the times. Editor: And, perhaps a looking glass forward, to the celebrity obsessed world we find ourselves in. One could look into her gestures, posture and facial representation for days…