From the Actors and Actresses series (N45, Type 5) for Virginia Brights Cigarettes 1885 - 1891

This card, created by Allen & Ginter for Virginia Brights Cigarettes, is from a series featuring actors and actresses. It's a small, mass-produced object, made using photographic and printing techniques. The card's material presence speaks to the world of advertising and consumer culture, reflecting the rise of mass media in the late 19th century. Photography allowed for widespread reproduction and distribution. These cards were included in cigarette packs as a marketing tactic. Though seemingly inconsequential, this was a skilled trade. The card would have been designed, photographed, printed, and die-cut in factories. The image’s sepia tones give it an antique feel today, yet its original purpose was entirely commercial. The very fact that someone’s portrait could be captured and multiplied was still relatively novel. What seems like a simple commercial product, in reality, involved many hands and complex industrial processes. It challenges our notions of what constitutes art, design, and labor.