Actress wearing pink flower in hair, from Stars of the Stage, Third Series (N131) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Honest Long Cut Tobacco 1891 - 1892

This small card featuring an actress with a pink flower in her hair was made around 1888 by W. Duke, Sons & Co. to promote their Honest Long Cut Tobacco. It’s a chromolithograph, a color printing process involving a series of lithographic stones, each applying a different color to achieve a vibrant image. Now, consider the context: this wasn't fine art, but commercial ephemera. It was a giveaway, meant to entice customers. The printing process itself speaks to the rise of industrial capitalism. Chromolithography allowed for mass production of colorful images, fueling advertising and consumer culture. The card presents an idealized image of beauty and sophistication, linking it to the act of consuming tobacco. These cards were collected and traded, blurring the lines between advertising, entertainment, and social exchange. The value lies not just in the image, but in its role as a mass-produced object embedded in a network of commerce and consumption. This challenges our traditional notions of art and value, reminding us to consider the social life of objects.