Card Number 142, Irene Verona, from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-4) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Cameo Cigarettes 1880s

Curator: It has an ethereal, dreamlike quality, don't you think? Almost as if we’ve caught a glimpse into a nostalgic memory. Editor: Quite. And, here, before us, we have an intriguing artifact: "Card Number 142, Irene Verona, from the Actors and Actresses series." It was part of a set, N145-4, issued by Duke Sons & Co. in the 1880s as an advertisement for Cameo Cigarettes. Curator: It’s fascinating how these small commercial objects can reflect so much about the period, this actress gazing out to sea. The sepia tones imbue a kind of classic romanticism. What narratives were they hoping to conjure in their consumers’ minds? Editor: Absolutely. These were mass-produced prints utilizing photography and drawing. The aim was to associate the allure of stage actresses like Irene Verona with their product, creating a sort of aspirational link. Think of how tobacco companies co-opted sports figures, celebrities, or even exotic destinations, a kind of Orientalism pervades in their wider advertising strategies. Curator: This one has a foot both in reality and constructed ideals. Verona stands confidently on this painted shore, yet the symbol she presents has powerful continuity with feminine icons looking out to sea that date to Greek and Roman tradition. It presents an assertive woman, yet one who is looking outward and therefore subtly yearning or even hoping. Editor: That tension is palpable. We have a woman presented both as a performer in command of an audience, yet subtly positioned within prescribed gender roles. Tobacco companies were major promoters of this ideal woman within rapidly industrializing, patriarchal nations. And let's not forget the medium—these cards were inserted into cigarette packs. This proximity surely shaped how audiences received them. Curator: You can easily picture someone pulling this from a pack, tucking her portrait in a pocket or on a dresser mirror. In essence, this Irene Verona served as a symbol of elegance for a society undergoing immense changes and hoping to maintain an identity and an ideal. It makes us consider how even a mundane everyday item holds a strange potency of longing and hope. Editor: Yes, we see here, how something seemingly so trivial in this ephemeral promotion piece—acquires value and weight by the forces shaping our cultural narratives.