Alice Palmer, from the Actresses series (N246), Type 2, issued by Kinney Brothers to promote Sporting Extra Cigarettes 1888 - 1892

Here we have Alice Palmer, from the Actresses series, printed by Kinney Brothers to promote Sporting Extra Cigarettes. The card features a soft-focus portrait of a woman in profile, with a muted color palette that gives it an ethereal quality. The composition is simple, focusing on the subject’s face and upper body, framed by a plain background that emphasizes her features. The delicate balance of light and shadow creates a sense of depth and texture, particularly in the rendering of her bonnet and dress. This image, seemingly a benign promotional item, engages with the structural dynamics of representation and spectatorship inherent in commercial photography. The actress becomes a signifier, her image commodified and circulated as part of a broader system of exchange. This raises interesting questions about the construction of identity and the role of media in shaping our perceptions. The photograph invites us to consider the complex interplay between art, commerce, and the gaze.