Miss Craigen, from the Actors and Actresses series (N45, Type 1) for Virginia Brights Cigarettes 1885 - 1891

This is "Miss Craigen," a cigarette card from the Actors and Actresses series, created by Allen & Ginter. The visual field is dominated by a portrait, rendered in sepia tones, creating a sense of historical distance and uniformity. The subject, Miss Craigen, is positioned in a three-quarter view, which allows us to examine the structure of her features and the set of her expression. Light and shadow create a soft tonal gradation. The composition adheres to a vertical format, with the actress's name and the brand of cigarettes displayed at the bottom, grounding the image in its commercial purpose. The arrangement encourages a reading of the image through a structuralist lens, where the actress is both a subject and a signifier, embedded within a network of cultural and economic codes. The diffuse sepia tones further emphasize the photographic print as a commodity to be circulated within a broader economy of images and desires.