Card 615, Miss Evans, from the Actors and Actresses series (N45, Type 1) for Virginia Brights Cigarettes 1885 - 1891

Editor: This is "Card 615, Miss Evans," part of the Actors and Actresses series produced between 1885 and 1891 by Allen & Ginter for Virginia Brights Cigarettes. It appears to be a photographic print, sepia-toned and rather petite. There's a delicate quality to the portrait; she seems lost in thought. What strikes you most when you look at this, like, material relic, you know? Curator: Well, besides immediately picturing a time when cigarette companies included art – and societal idols – *inside* their product packaging(!), I find the quiet intimacy remarkable. The subdued sepia tones soften the entire image. You mentioned her reflective mood; to me, that stillness, combined with the profile view, almost creates a cameo effect. I wonder, what kind of "brights" did Miss Evans favor, ha! It's all so captivatingly faded somehow. What do you think this format communicates about celebrity and consumerism at the time, compared to, say, Instagram today? Editor: That's fascinating! The cameo comparison is spot-on. It’s crazy to think of this as a form of advertising! Maybe the subtlety aimed to evoke a sense of sophistication… like, ‘smoke these cigarettes and become cultured?' A far cry from today's loud influencer culture! Did the company commission original photographs for these, or license existing ones, I wonder? Curator: Exactly! This pre-dates full-throttle modern advertising. I like that thought, yes, to ‘become cultured’. As to your question, often companies would acquire existing portraits, or hire photographers to produce images specifically for the cards. And seeing this as a 'relic', like you put it, really amplifies the sense of distance, doesn’t it? It almost feels like finding a pressed flower in a forgotten book. Editor: Definitely! It makes me think about how we preserve images and memories now versus then. Thank you, this was illuminating! Curator: Likewise! It is good to ruminate about beauty through the ages.