Miss Van Dyk, from the Actresses series (N245) issued by Kinney Brothers to promote Sweet Caporal Cigarettes 1890

This small card featuring Miss Van Dyk is from the Actresses series, created by the Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company to promote Sweet Caporal Cigarettes. These cards, popular in the late 19th century, existed within a burgeoning consumer culture, offering glimpses into the lives and faces of actresses to entice customers. Here, Miss Van Dyk is presented, softened by the sepia tone, gazing out with a look that seems to want to tell you a secret. The adornment on her head hints at the exotic and the theatrical. These cards walked a fine line, using the allure of actresses to sell cigarettes, while simultaneously dictating and celebrating the image of women in the public sphere. Think about the power of representation and how women were, and continue to be, marketed in ways that capitalize on both their beauty and their perceived roles in society. These images reflect not only the actresses themselves but also the desires, fantasies, and societal norms of the time.