Laura Moore, from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-8) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Duke Cigarettes 1890 - 1895

This is a promotional card from the Actors and Actresses series, created by W. Duke, Sons & Co. sometime between 1870 and 1920. The image has a uniform sepia tone, which casts the figure and the architectural detail of the balustrade in a continuous hue. Notice how the composition creates a dialogue between the softness of the figure and the rigidity of the architecture. Laura Moore leans casually against the balustrade, a pose which is both intimate and performative. The diagonal line of her body contrasts with the vertical lines of the balustrade, creating a dynamic tension. The sepia tone gives this mass-produced commercial image the aesthetic of an old master drawing, a tension between high art and low culture. It underscores how photography was beginning to redefine representation. Here, form is not just about aesthetics, but about mediating new modes of seeing and understanding celebrity in an era of mass media.