From the Actors and Actresses series (N45, Type 4) for Virginia Brights Cigarettes 1885 - 1891

This is a promotional card for Virginia Brights Cigarettes, part of Allen & Ginter’s "Actors and Actresses" series. These cards, trading cards if you will, became popular at the end of the 19th century. They offer a glimpse into the cultural values and aesthetics of the time. The image presents a woman, likely an actress, with an idealized beauty standard of the period. Her gaze is demure, and her posture is soft. We might consider how these images reinforced certain expectations for women in the public eye, and, more broadly, in society. The card’s function was to promote consumption, but it simultaneously participated in the construction of identity. What does it mean to be both a woman and a commodity? How does it feel to be consumed by the public eye? These are the kinds of questions that arise when we look closely.