Grace Barton, from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-8) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Duke Cigarettes 1890 - 1895

This is Grace Barton, from the Actors and Actresses series made around 1870 by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Duke Cigarettes. Consider the iconography of beauty, here represented through the soft, inviting gaze and elaborate hairstyle. The wave, a recurrent motif in art history, appears in Barton's cascading locks. Think of Botticelli's Venus emerging from the sea, her flowing hair a symbol of vitality and rebirth. But consider this: while Venus's wave signifies divine beauty, Barton's may symbolize the fleeting nature of fame. The wave, after all, crashes and dissipates. The image, reproduced en masse on cigarette cards, becomes a commodity, a transient object. Here, it evokes a sense of nostalgia, a longing for a bygone era. The collective memory associates such images with a romanticized past, engaging our subconscious on a level beyond mere visual appreciation. Observe how a simple curl carries layers of meaning, a testament to the enduring power of symbols across time and space.