Card Number 213, Frances Donalds, from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-5) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Cameo Cigarettes 1880s

Curator: Looking at this lovely sepia-toned print, what first springs to mind for you? Editor: A certain sweetness, almost melancholic. The light is so gentle, caressing her face. It's romantic in that very old-fashioned, yearning sort of way. Curator: Absolutely. The artwork here is "Card Number 213, Frances Donalds" a piece dating back to the 1880s, part of the Actors and Actresses series issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote their Cameo Cigarettes. It's currently held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Editor: Cigarette advertising! So, glamour was always a selling point, huh? What strikes me formally is how contained it is. Her gaze drifts upwards but stays within the frame, reinforcing a sense of poised reflection, almost innocence. The sepia tones contribute to the mood, evoking history and memory. Curator: Right. She's an actress immortalized by a fleeting commodity. There's a beautiful tension there. It is an image designed to charm, to elevate the cigarette by association with the actress. Her attire looks delicately elaborate, doesn't it? A low-cut laced dress gives off allure, while her curly hair looks modern but also timeless. Editor: There’s something fragile about the print itself. You can feel its age; that slightly yellowed tint isn't just aesthetic, it is textural history. That, combined with her expression, projects an almost spectral quality. Is she happy? Yearning for something more? What story does she hope this card tells about her? Curator: That tension makes it incredibly compelling, especially considering its initial purpose. It moves beyond advertising into something genuinely evocative of a specific era, a specific type of celebrity. The image isn't trying to overwhelm; it's trying to invite you into her quiet space. Editor: I agree. And beyond that time capsule, it also serves as a testament to image making and consumption: how are images altered when we mass-produce, trade and collect them. We consume this cigarette promotion more intimately, making it ever-resonant today. Curator: What began as mere advertisement captures not only Frances, but perhaps a shadow of us too. Editor: Nicely put!