I Should Smile, from the Actresses and Celebrities series (N60, Type 2) promoting Little Beauties Cigarettes for Allen & Ginter brand tobacco products 1887

Curator: This albumen print, titled "I Should Smile," hails from the Actresses and Celebrities series by Allen & Ginter, around 1887. Editor: My first impression is pure sweetness. It’s overwhelmingly saccharine, that simple, joyful expression. But underneath that first glance, I’m also picking up a hint of the performative—the subject knows they are being watched. Curator: Note the contrast, though, between the almost hyper-realistic detail in the face, achieved through the albumen process, and the softness of the crocheted sweater, edges slightly blurred. It’s a tension created by the technical limitations of the time, but it lends a certain charm. Editor: The title "I Should Smile" is rather suggestive when coupled with this image. Who dictates this supposed need for happiness? The pressure on women, particularly at that time, to project a constant state of cheerful compliance is palpable. I also notice the title appears to be a caption that the photographer added to commercialize a photograph, perhaps using stock images. Curator: Interesting perspective. You see, I'm drawn to the composition itself. The close cropping focuses attention directly on the facial expression, forcing the viewer to engage intimately with the subject. It’s a bold, direct approach, typical of portraiture in that period, pushing aside background distractions. Editor: Yet that "direct approach" is exactly what interests me historically. Allen & Ginter used these images in cigarette packs, didn't they? It becomes more complex when you remember it's ultimately a marketing tool linked to tobacco. And by implication a health hazard targeting consumers of the time, young men no doubt! Curator: Precisely. In the end, it remains an engaging image of innocence caught at a specific historical juncture. A moment frozen. Editor: Yes, a complex distillation of so many contradictions, innocence commodified. That bittersweet contrast certainly does make one think.