Miss Deering, from the Actors and Actresses series (N45, Type 8) for Virginia Brights Cigarettes 1885 - 1891

Editor: This is "Miss Deering, from the Actors and Actresses series," dating to around 1885-1891, created by Allen & Ginter. It’s a print, a card actually, featuring what appears to be a photograph of an actress in costume. What strikes me is the slightly dreamlike quality. How would you interpret this work? Curator: Dreamlike indeed! Let's consider how Allen & Ginter employed imagery, in this case, of actresses and other public figures to brand their cigarette products. What purpose did the company serve? What kind of identity or aspiration was Allen & Ginter crafting through imagery that connects cigarettes, actresses, and, say, fairies? Editor: Well, I suppose the goal was to connect the product to glamour and popularity. It suggests smoking these cigarettes could elevate you, associating you with beautiful and successful people…almost like a fantasy. Curator: Precisely. The butterfly wings, the vaguely Grecian dress - what feelings or archetypes do these elements evoke? Consider the classical ideals of beauty, theatre as a cultural institution…these combined, tell me something of the time. They tell me of social values being explicitly, strategically marketed. Editor: So, it’s not just a pretty picture; it's a calculated construction designed to influence desires and perceptions, using powerful, established visual symbols. Even her gaze is directed upwards! Curator: Exactly! The artist draws on cultural memory to build layers of meaning, selling not just a product, but an idea. It makes one wonder about the enduring power of symbolic imagery in advertising and how it shapes our own contemporary desires, doesn't it? Editor: It certainly does. I hadn't considered all those layers – the deliberate combination of performance, classical ideals, and aspirational imagery, all compressed onto a tiny card. Very illuminating! Curator: It demonstrates how commercial images can serve as time capsules, filled with the aspirations and anxieties of their era, each symbol carefully chosen to resonate with a particular audience.