Card 637, Louise Paullin, from the Actors and Actresses series (N45, Type 7) for Dixie Cigarettes 1885 - 1891

This is an undated portrait card of Louise Paullin from the Actors and Actresses series by Allen & Ginter, printed for Dixie Cigarettes. The sepia tone flattens the image, emphasizing the material quality of the card itself. Paullin stands in costume, her pose and attire marked by an ostentatious display, from her bejeweled crown to the exaggerated sleeves of her jacket. The composition is rigidly structured. Paullin is centered, her figure taking up most of the frame. This straightforward presentation flattens the image. The backdrop is vaguely defined, reducing any sense of depth. This lack of spatial depth throws the emphasis back onto the surface and onto Paullin's theatrical presentation of self. The card operated as a sign, or even a simulacrum, of celebrity in late nineteenth-century culture, a potent symbol of the burgeoning culture of celebrity, mass production, and consumerism. The photograph and its inherent formal constraints serve to underscore not the essence of the actress, but her constructed image.