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

Editor: This is Goldie Simpson from the Actresses series by the Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company, around 1890. It’s an albumen print, a kind of photograph, sepia-toned and faded with age. It makes me feel a bit melancholic. The pose seems staged and a little uncomfortable. What can you tell me about it? Curator: Ah, yes, Goldie. She seems to be caught in a pensive moment, doesn't she? You’re right to feel the melancholic note, an echo perhaps of the late Victorian era's sensibilities. Beyond its surface, though, consider its context. This wasn't 'art' in the way we often think. This was promotional material – part of a cigarette card series! Isn't that wonderfully subversive? To find, nestled between puffs of tobacco, the face of an actress. Do you think it elevated the everyday, or diminished art itself? Editor: I never thought about that. It definitely adds a layer to the whole thing. Knowing it was connected to cigarettes makes me think about fleeting beauty and the ephemeral nature of fame too. But did it work? Did people buy more cigarettes because of these? Curator: An intriguing question. One ponders whether smokers felt a certain kinship, a bond with Miss Simpson. Did they see themselves in her gaze? A fleeting, shared moment, before the smoke dissipated? And it’s interesting – tobacco companies understood image, allure. These cards, like theatre bills, were accessible art for many. Were they buying cigarettes or dreams of a sophisticated world? Editor: That's such a good point. It wasn't just about the cigarette itself. It was selling a whole aspirational lifestyle. I like looking at it from that perspective now. Curator: Absolutely! It makes one realize art is where you find it – even tucked into a packet of smokes. Editor: That's given me a lot to think about; everyday life being touched by creativity and aspirations! Thanks!