Miss Rats, from the Actors and Actresses series (N171) for Gypsy Queen Cigarettes 1886 - 1890

This small card of “Miss Rats” was created by Goodwin & Company, as part of a series of actresses included in packs of Gypsy Queen Cigarettes. Though small, the photographic print represents a big shift in how images were made and consumed. Printed by the thousands, these cards were a novel form of advertising, and a way to connect with a growing audience of consumers. Each card, including this image of Miss Rats, would have been created through a series of mechanical and chemical processes – a far cry from the hand-painted portraits of the past. And while photography promised to capture reality, remember that Miss Rats’s pose, outfit, and backdrop would all have been carefully staged. This mass-produced image shows us how new technologies changed not just art, but also commerce and culture itself. By placing it in the pack of cigarettes, it created a direct through-line to consumption, labor, and capitalism.