Campbell & Lane, from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-7) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Duke Cigarettes 1880s

Curator: My goodness, the sepia tones immediately give it such a vintage air. They really don’t make cigarette ads like they used to...wait, were they ever really tasteful? Editor: Well, this is one of those cultural artifacts that makes you scratch your head, right? This image, held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, is a promotional card for Duke Cigarettes from the 1880s. It’s part of a series called “Actors and Actresses,” featuring, in this case, Campbell & Lane. Curator: Actors and actresses? I see it now, like trading cards… only, to peddle tobacco? It's fascinating and a bit unsettling how celebrity was used so overtly. They are beautiful, though. So poised! What I find captivating is the interplay between public persona and blatant commercialism. Are we that different now with our influencer culture? Editor: The politics of imagery are certainly evolving, but at their core, there's that constant dialogue. Consider that these cards were collected, traded, and displayed. These cards really offered a way to engage with celebrity in a tactile way. Curator: The image itself is so dreamy; there's this theatrical backdrop behind them and soft, diffused lighting on their faces. What do you think it tells us, subconsciously? Are we sold the cigarettes or are we also sold a lifestyle or ideal through beauty and success of these public figures? Editor: Well, in addition to glamour, it speaks to how marketing functioned as an extension of burgeoning consumer culture. Brands like Duke Cigarettes invested heavily in building aspirational connections, creating this larger-than-life ideal. It's a curated performance, from the posed studio portraits to the slogan emblazoned across the bottom. Curator: I suppose. I guess in a way we can say that the performance begins on both sides - performer and cigarette enterprise! The only constant seems to be, from their sepia-tinged world to our Instagram-filtered lives, the desire to sell, sell, sell… Editor: Absolutely! And how we choose to interpret and repurpose those historical relics…well that part of the story continues today.