Card Number 528, August Walkup, from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-7) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Duke Cigarettes 1880s

Curator: Looking at "Card Number 528, August Walkup," a portrait produced by W. Duke, Sons & Co. sometime in the 1880s. It resides here at the Metropolitan Museum. Notice the sitter’s pose, costume, the way it almost— Editor: Has this dreamy, slightly melancholic air, doesn't it? The sepia tones definitely add to that nostalgic feel, like a half-forgotten memory shimmering through time. The composition with her perched on a rock is unexpectedly playful! Curator: The tonality indeed presents a formal element—observe the sharp contrast between figure and backdrop achieved through calculated deployment of light—while August Walkup’s stance certainly echoes traditional portraiture tropes but, of course, done as a commercially available photographic print. Editor: Exactly! So interesting how a photograph could borrow conventions from painting or sculpture. There's an interesting dissonance there. And think about her expression! She almost seems to know she’s part of this strange dance between art and advertising. Curator: Her ambiguous smile certainly engages with these intersections of visibility and marketing strategies. It challenges viewers in subtle ways as this popular art reveals aspects regarding consumption trends as visual text during this period of expanding tobacco industries. Editor: Did these cigarette cards actually work, do you think? Like, did men pick one actress over another when deciding what cigarettes to buy based on the imagery? I almost want to collect them. They capture something really authentic, you know? They give hints and glimmers. It seems somehow subversive to promote vice with art—an intersection of low and high art? Curator: We should consider the socio-economic strata affected. Advertising tropes rely deeply on the prevailing attitudes that create these cultural echoes! Editor: So what remains? Beyond brand appeal, a portrait that leaves its viewers strangely content with an ephemeral encounter. August, what secrets do you hold?! Curator: I'm struck again by this composition which provides insight into aesthetic structures pervasive at this time.