Sadie Lane, from the Actresses series (N245) issued by Kinney Brothers to promote Sweet Caporal Cigarettes 1890

Editor: This is "Sadie Lane," from the Actresses series, made around 1890 by the Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company. It’s a photographic print, sepia toned. There’s a sense of theatricality, maybe a little staged. What’s your take? Curator: It makes me think of old postcards and the glamour they tried to capture. This photo card would have been tucked into cigarette packs as a collectable. What kind of performance was Sadie Lane giving, I wonder? What kind of image was the Tobacco company selling, along with the cigarettes, and to whom? It's not exactly subtle. Editor: Definitely not subtle! It almost feels…campy by today’s standards. Was it common to use actresses this way back then? Curator: Actresses, athletes, prominent figures— images were everywhere! Remember, photography was still fairly new and intriguing for many people. Putting an actress on a cigarette card gave everyday smokers a brush with fame, a little vicarious thrill, I suppose. And there's this fascinating dance between desire, performance, and consumption going on. It's worth pondering. Does the image sell cigarettes or the idea of becoming somebody glamorous and sophisticated like Sadie? What is that hat all about? Editor: Good point, It’s almost like the actress herself is being sold, as much as the product. I never really thought of those old advertisements having that much…depth, I guess. Curator: That is the beautiful trap in art. Seemingly simple pleasures that bring up difficult conversations about value, identity, representation, even about the beginning of celebrity culture and how desire can be manufactured for mass consumption. You dig beneath the surface, and everything changes. Editor: Thanks for pointing that out! Now I can see more than just a sepia-toned photograph. I see layers of history and how they inform modern popular culture. It all adds up! Curator: My pleasure! And I’m reminded that looking is never a passive act, but a kind of detective work.