Card Number 212, Sutherland, from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-1) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Cross Cut Cigarettes 1880s

This is a promotional card for Cross Cut Cigarettes by Duke Sons & Co., featuring an actress named Sutherland. Her theatrical costume, adorned with floral motifs, immediately draws our attention. Flowers, across epochs, have symbolized beauty, fleeting youth, and often, feminine virtue. Yet, their ephemeral nature also hints at mortality, a theme echoed in vanitas paintings across Europe. The actress, presenting herself amidst an idyllic, painted backdrop, reminds us of Botticelli's Venus, emerging from the sea – a goddess of beauty and desire. However, in the context of a cigarette advertisement, the flower takes on a darker hue. It becomes a fleeting pleasure, consumed and then extinguished, much like the cigarette itself. This juxtaposition of beauty and transience speaks to the complex relationship between desire, consumption, and the subconscious longing for immortality that drives much of human behavior. The resonance of these symbols speaks to a collective cultural memory. The image engages us on a deeply psychological level. And so the flower, once a symbol of innocent beauty, is reborn here, tinged with the smoke of fleeting pleasure and the ever-present shadow of mortality.