Lobestinetti, from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-8) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Duke Cigarettes 1890 - 1895

Editor: This is a portrait card from around the 1890s, titled "Lobestinetti, from the Actors and Actresses series," produced by Duke Sons & Co. It was designed as a promotional item for Duke Cigarettes. I’m struck by how closely these figures are positioned and by the...well, the use of actors to market cigarettes. What can we make of this? Curator: This portrait provides an entry point to examining the evolving relationship between commerce and entertainment. Note that it’s a photographic print. Consider the labor involved: the photographic studio, the printing process, the actors themselves likely under contract. The finished card was a means of promoting the consumption of tobacco. Does this change how we view both portraiture and performance? Editor: I see what you mean. The photograph flattens the artistry of portraiture in service of a product. Curator: Exactly! These cards blurred the lines between high and low culture and mass production and individual representation. Cigarette cards were immensely popular; they democratized art, but also commodified it. Were these cards “art,” or were they advertisements exploiting art traditions? Editor: So it challenges our typical understanding of an art object by explicitly being a tool for consumerism. Is there an earlier precedent for the use of celebrities to sell products? Curator: Not quite like this. Mass-produced, readily available photographs linked to brand loyalty were new. We must question the systems that enable these photographs to exist. Editor: That’s fascinating, reframing what constitutes ‘art’ based on how it’s made, distributed, and used within a specific culture and time period. I guess, looking at it now, that’s the real performance: commerce masquerading as art. Curator: Precisely. It demonstrates how materials and methods are not neutral; they’re deeply embedded in societal forces. I’m glad this opened up a fresh perspective for you!