Card 764, from the Actors and Actresses series (N45, Type 2) for Virginia Brights Cigarettes 1885 - 1891

Curator: Looking at this image, my first thought is... well, she's got presence! Even faded and tiny like this, there's something captivating about her gaze. Almost like she knows something we don't. Editor: That's interesting. This is Card 764 from the Actors and Actresses series (Type 2) for Virginia Brights Cigarettes, published sometime between 1885 and 1891 by Allen & Ginter. It's part of the Met's collection. You know, these cards were inserts meant to stiffen the packs. Think of it – a fleeting piece of ephemera meant to be tossed, now a window into a different era of celebrity. Curator: So, tobacco advertising featuring performers... it does make you wonder about the power dynamics at play, doesn’t it? I’m pulled in by the staged drama of it all, she is clearly playing a role. You can tell from the pose. Editor: Exactly. These cards weren’t just innocent pictures; they were carefully constructed images intended to create aspirational associations with the product. Curator: It makes you think about advertising and how it can immortalize people even without their permission, I imagine. Do we know who she is? The specific actor? Editor: Unfortunately, identifying the actors in these series can be tricky because the cards were so generic in their naming. She is forever typecast in her very own playing card, in sepia. Still quite dazzling, even today, no? Curator: A vanished moment. But yes, her face is compelling. And of course, there's the inherent beauty in imperfection—the aged paper itself, those nicks, a punch hole, those brown sepia hues… adds to that melancholy nostalgia, doesn't it? All the subtle shifts and damage speak volumes of its travels from a tobacco package, into somebody's hands. Editor: Precisely. The artifact itself, this very small piece, becomes as compelling as the image, highlighting the intricate relationships among popular culture, commerce, and the rise of image-making in the late 19th century. Curator: That is really the trick, isn’t it? How something so humble in its origin manages to speak, perhaps even roar, to a modern audience about complex systems. Editor: Definitely!