Georgie Drew and Sadie Kirby, from the Actors and Actresses series (N171) for Old Judge Cigarettes

This small photographic print of actors Georgie Drew and Sadie Kirby was made as an advertising card for Old Judge Cigarettes, sometime in the late 19th century. Produced on a miniature scale with industrial methods, its original purpose was not high art, but mass consumption. Printed on thin paper stock, the sepia-toned image is a reminder that photography itself became a mass-producible medium during this period. Consider the labor that went into making these cards; from the factory workers operating printing presses, to the tobacco pickers, to the actresses and studio staff required to pose for the photograph in the first place. The image presents the actresses in costume. Note the texture and form of their garments, translated into monochrome by the printing process. What was once colorful and vibrant on stage, now becomes a study in light and shadow, texture and pattern. This card reminds us that images, like all objects, have a material reality, and exist within complex social and economic systems.