Card Number 762, Effie Shannon, from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-7) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Duke Cigarettes 1880s

Curator: This is card number 762 from the Actors and Actresses series, a portrait of Effie Shannon, printed in the 1880s by W. Duke, Sons & Co. as promotional material for Duke Cigarettes. It's an albumen print, a type of photograph popular at the time. Editor: Immediately I'm struck by this sepia softness and sense of faded glamor, almost like holding a whisper from a past age. There’s a certain dreamy wistfulness. Curator: The choice of albumen print for these cards speaks volumes. Albumen, derived from egg whites, created a glossy surface. Mass production linked to celebrity portraiture generated capitalist consumption through seemingly inexpensive commodities. Editor: True, but let's look beyond its function as advertisement. Her expression… There’s a vulnerability there. Almost as if she knows she’s being reduced to a commodity but holds onto a kernel of self. Curator: Or consider how the very production and distribution of this portrait contributes to the shaping and reinforcing of celebrity culture itself, Effie's image circulating widely through consumer habits. Think how tobacco transformed and depended upon portraiture! Editor: I imagine her performing on a brilliantly lit stage while somewhere, machines tirelessly churned out her face to be stuck in pockets... It's a surreal dichotomy. Do you think Effie Shannon ever imagined she'd become such a fleeting everyday object? Curator: The disposability is inherent; mass production aimed for constant, repeatable purchase. Duke's objective wasn't just about selling an image, but shaping tastes and desires by association to celebrities and their professions! Editor: This little card invites grand, complicated questions. Materiality versus ethereal being… consumerism against artistic integrity. A pretty intense message on the back of a cigarette advertisement. Curator: Well put, there’s value and substance beneath its mass-produced texture that can stimulate reflection upon consumption. Editor: Absolutely, it lingers in my mind—longer than a puff of smoke, at any rate!