Card Number 552, Fanny Rice, from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-7) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Duke Cigarettes 1880s

Editor: Here we have "Card Number 552, Fanny Rice, from the Actors and Actresses series," created in the 1880s by W. Duke, Sons & Co., using drawing and photographic print techniques. It feels very much of its time – a formal, almost stuffy portrait – but also kind of intimate. What do you see in this piece beyond the surface, Curator? Curator: Well, it's funny you say stuffy. I see a strange vulnerability peeking through, actually. The sepia tones give it this ghostly feel, like peering into a half-remembered dream, a wisp of a bygone era trying to solidify in our minds. You know, imagine Fanny, the actress – she’s perched on the precipice of fame, but it’s inextricably linked to… cigarettes! Talk about an ironic pairing. It whispers to us, doesn’t it? What price fleeting celebrity? It also begs the question, doesn't it, what survives? Is it Fanny’s talent? Or is it merely her face preserved because she was the poster girl for a tobacco company? Editor: That’s… sobering. I was so caught up in the vintage aesthetic I didn't really think about that context. It seems… exploitative? Curator: It’s complicated, isn’t it? Exploitative, yes, but it also created visibility. This little card, designed to be discarded, immortalized her. It forces us to confront how value and fame are created, sustained, and maybe even… distorted. Maybe, in a way, Fanny outsmarted them by becoming something enduring because of the advertisement. Perhaps all that’s needed is a bit of luck and someone to believe in you; however shallow or self-serving they might be. Editor: It's weirdly empowering when you frame it like that. The image, initially, seemed straightforward. It seems that this chance encounter turned into immortality. Thank you for enriching my interpretation. Curator: My pleasure. I see Fanny, and through her, I remember the fragile dance between art, commerce, and our own longing for something to last. It’s quite beautiful when you really think about it!