Charlotte Ray, from the Actresses series (N245) issued by Kinney Brothers to promote Sweet Caporal Cigarettes 1890

Curator: What immediately strikes me is the intimate scale, almost like a hidden treasure. Editor: Well, hidden might be right. We're looking at "Charlotte Ray," from the Actresses series issued around 1890 by the Kinney Brothers, as a promotional piece for Sweet Caporal Cigarettes. It's an albumen print, essentially a photograph reproduced as a print. Curator: The production seems pretty straightforward—commercial photography, designed for mass appeal and distribution. I'm curious, what sort of paper would they have used? The subtle discolouration would give insight into the methods, I think. Editor: Exactly! Consider how images of women, even professional women like actresses, were being circulated and consumed at the time. Tobacco companies were essentially objectifying women to sell their products. Curator: So, you're focusing on the industry's manipulative intention? I would suggest also appreciating the skills that were needed at that time for producing a print like this. There’s also an undeniable elegance in the process. The development of the image, layering and fixing of the photo is intriguing, and this has been lost for a while due to digitalisation. Editor: Absolutely. But the elegance is complicit in reinforcing a social hierarchy. The act of framing an actress for consumption ties into a legacy of gender inequality and exploitation that can be examined using critical lenses, for instance how this contributed towards establishing beauty standards that, even nowadays, we challenge. Curator: Hmm, that raises a good point. Still, one wonders what impact those standards have had. The very fact of making photography affordable and mass produced is indeed part of a larger discussion to do with class and access, so that more groups can see themelves represented and access ways of manufacturing a version of themselves in those kinds of commercial formats. Editor: Agreed. It highlights that something as "simple" as a cigarette card offers a complex interplay of art, commerce, gender, and cultural values. Curator: A blend, certainly! A delicate piece of material culture. Editor: Precisely. Hopefully these discussions have enabled a different view.