Card Number 214, from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-1) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Cross Cut Cigarettes 1880s

Curator: Looking at this piece, my first thought is of turn-of-the-century stagecraft. Editor: Yes, this is a promotional card dating from the 1880s, "Card Number 214, from the Actors and Actresses series" issued by W. Duke, Sons & Co. to promote Cross Cut Cigarettes, currently held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It's an albumen silver print, quite small in scale. What captures your attention? Curator: The pose. The woman, seemingly an actress, is positioned rather formally, yet there's a palpable sense of constructed fantasy here, wouldn’t you agree? A potent mix of vulnerability and deliberate performance. Editor: Indeed. This era reveled in portraying idealized images of feminine beauty. Notice the clothing; a juxtaposition of stage costume, with the cut of the corset and what appears to be an ermine-trimmed cloak. Curator: The cloak is interesting. Royal association for something quotidian? To me, it reflects the period's aspirations. Even through something as commercial as a cigarette card, the iconography speaks volumes. What cultural assumptions does the company make? How are these associations embedded in our culture to this day? Editor: Cigarette cards like these were wildly popular, and served not only as advertising, but also as a record of cultural celebrities—in this case, stage performers—at the height of their popularity. The card acts as a cultural mirror, reflecting societal ideals and, simultaneously, contributing to the celebrity machine that we recognize today. Curator: You mention cultural mirror, and that makes me consider how people collect, categorize, and immortalize the people and objects in their lives. It creates meaning but also dictates memory. What narratives and symbols persist over time? Editor: Precisely! Such an ordinary commercial object tells us so much about how our ancestors lived and what they valued, it hints at layers of power, cultural encoding, aspiration and fantasy. Curator: A compelling glimpse into a bygone era.