Annie Pixley, from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-8) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Duke Cigarettes 1890 - 1895

This photograph of Annie Pixley comes from a series of actors and actresses, issued around the turn of the 20th century by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Duke Cigarettes. The sepia tone is characteristic of early photographic processes, relying on a chemical reaction to light. But here, that process isn't in the service of art for art's sake. It's directly tied to industrial production and mass consumption. Photography has a long association with celebrity, and here we see it harnessed to sell cigarettes. It's worth considering the labor involved in the production of these images, and also in the tobacco industry that funded it. The photographs would have been made in large quantities, and inserted into cigarette packs by factory workers. The image thus becomes a token of that system, a memento of both glamour and industrial labor. It reminds us that every object we encounter has a complex material and social history, often hidden beneath the surface.