Miss Oceana, from the Actresses series (N203) issued by Wm. S. Kimball & Co. 1889

Editor: This is "Miss Oceana" from 1889, part of the Actresses series by Wm. S. Kimball & Co. It's a sepia print, like an old photograph, but… printed. She looks so confident, almost daring, in her bathing costume! What strikes you when you look at it? Curator: Isn’t it fascinating how a simple tobacco card can open up a window to a different era? To me, it’s the subtle performance of identity here, the way she seems to be playing with a 'type,' this early version of celebrity. She’s poised, aware of the gaze, almost inviting it, don't you think? But is it empowerment, or something else? What's your feeling? Editor: Well, I initially saw it as empowering, but now I see the artifice, the constructed-ness of the image…and I suppose that was the point. Do you think people saw through that then? Curator: Perhaps some did. But imagine finding this tucked into a pack of cigarettes – a little fragment of glamour and possibility in a rather less glamorous everyday life. It makes you wonder about the aspirations of the consumer, the dreams they were sold along with the tobacco. We might think of it as a form of advertising, or cheap commodity… Editor: But it's also a historical document in a way… a glimpse into the culture! I will never look at these old cards the same way again. Curator: Exactly. A humble object, but full of echoes and whispers if we’re willing to listen.