[Actress dressed as cupid], from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-8) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Duke Cigarettes 1890 - 1895

This is a promotional card made around the turn of the century by W. Duke, Sons & Co. to promote Duke Cigarettes, which depicts an actress dressed as cupid. Here, Cupid, the god of love, is armed with a bow and arrow, ready to strike unsuspecting hearts. This imagery, originating in ancient Rome, reappears throughout art history, notably during the Renaissance. Think of Botticelli’s Venus, where Cupid embodies both innocent love and more chaotic, irrational desires. Interestingly, while Cupid has been used to sell romance in many contexts, this commercial card uses the god of love to sell cigarettes. The arrow shot by the cupid figure connects the elation of romance to the experience of smoking, aiming to create a similar type of euphoric feeling. This represents the cyclical nature of symbols, and their ability to be repurposed and imbued with new cultural meaning.