Annie Summerville, Corsair Co., from the Actors and Actresses series (N45, Type 6) for Virginia Brights Cigarettes 1885 - 1891

Editor: Here we have a photograph, actually an albumen print, titled "Annie Summerville, Corsair Co." It's from a series promoting Virginia Brights Cigarettes, dating from around 1885 to 1891. It strikes me as a glamorous portrait. What stands out to you? Curator: What fascinates me is how the commercial need to sell cigarettes impacted artistic production. The material reality is this: it's a mass-produced image, intended to be collected. An albumen print made through photographic processes and circulated as trade cards with tobacco products. It challenges conventional understanding of fine art prints. Do we consider this ephemera, folk art, or something else entirely? Editor: I see what you mean. It's art directly linked to a commodity. So the purpose affects how we view the piece? Curator: Precisely. Consider the labor involved: from growing the tobacco to the photographer's studio and the printing presses. Every stage relies on human labor. We see Annie Summerville’s image being consumed along with the cigarettes, reinforcing her role not just as performer, but as commodity within a larger system of consumer culture. Who made the elaborate earring she is wearing and under what condition? Editor: That framing opens up so many questions. It's not just about her; it’s about everyone and everything connected to the product, that we take for granted, even now. Curator: Absolutely. The photograph is, in essence, documenting the machinery of capitalism itself, by glorifying this individual it becomes integral to consumption practices and value systems of the time. It makes you think differently about beauty and commerce, doesn’t it? Editor: Definitely. I’ll never look at a vintage cigarette card the same way again.