Card 787, Irene Verona, from the Actors and Actresses series (N45, Type 2) for Virginia Brights Cigarettes 1885 - 1891

Editor: Here we have "Card 787, Irene Verona, from the Actors and Actresses series" by Allen & Ginter, sometime between 1885 and 1891. It's currently housed at the Met. It has a slightly faded sepia tone. The first thing I notice is that this feels like a slice of performance—almost vaudeville—frozen in time. How would you describe this photograph? Curator: Yes, that's a great first impression. I find it wonderfully unsettling – this tiny rectangular window onto another era, advertising cigarettes, featuring a performer. I see the gaze of the subject looking off into the distance – slightly above the camera… or is it a come hither stare, in some alternate reality? Do you see that same sense of playful ambiguity, or do I just have smoke in my eyes, metaphorically speaking, of course? Editor: Definitely a playful ambiguity. It’s interesting to see the image presented in this commercial context; it definitely reframes how we might read the subject's expression. Curator: Exactly. What fascinates me is this blending of art, commerce, and performance. It's almost as if Allen & Ginter were not just selling cigarettes but a lifestyle, a fleeting moment of theatrical glamour packaged with each purchase. We’re basically looking at a precursor to celebrity culture, wouldn't you agree? Editor: Absolutely. That makes me wonder, were these cards like trading cards? Something to collect and trade? Curator: Precisely! Imagine these cards, not confined to museum walls, but slipped into pockets, exchanged amongst friends. And the casual consumption of these cards right alongside the consumption of tobacco. Now that's some layered art history to chew on. What's your lasting thought after taking a closer look? Editor: I think it has radically altered my perception of celebrity portraits, or really the way images circulate. Thanks! Curator: My pleasure. I must say that our brief little smoke-break of an art exploration has reframed how I intend to contemplate popular portraiture from here on. Cheers!