Card Number 329, Wallace, from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-1) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Cross Cut Cigarettes 1880s

Curator: Welcome! We are now looking at card number 329 of the Actors and Actresses series from the 1880s. The card features Wallace and was issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Cross Cut Cigarettes. Editor: My first impression is one of deliberate artifice. It’s designed to entice. The material of that lace and how it falls--it is quite beautiful but definitely placed for our view, to stimulate consumer desire. Curator: Yes, these cards played a vital role in cultivating consumer habits. It speaks volumes that tobacco companies used the symbolic power of female actors, often presented in alluring ways, to create positive associations with their product. Wallace here, partially obscured by that beautiful lace, invokes curiosity and hints at something tantalizingly out of reach. It's a potent psychological game. Editor: I see a distinct intersection of entertainment, advertising, and burgeoning mass culture here. The card itself is a cheaply-made, mass produced item designed to be disposable, but the image is very intentionally constructed for value. What interests me most is this relationship between value assigned versus labor and the resources for mass consumption. How does the accessibility alter the viewers reception? Curator: The inherent tension of mass production versus the individual subject portrayed is significant. The card seeks to elevate Wallace and create allure while existing within a cheap, easily discarded format. Editor: But consider the reverse, that this accessibility gave Wallace notoriety. Were it not for the card and its distribution, it is likely Wallace and Cross Cut Cigarettes would both be forgotten to time. Curator: Good point! The card both diminished and amplified. In its small way, it preserves a moment, a face, and a set of cultural values that are really rich with contradiction. Editor: Yes, there is much to see when digging beneath that lace curtain.