Card Number 644, Miss Schwartz, from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-3) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Cross Cut Cigarettes 1880s

Editor: This is a fascinating little piece! It’s a print from the 1880s, made by W. Duke, Sons & Co., called "Card Number 644, Miss Schwartz." It's part of an actors and actresses series used to advertise Cross Cut Cigarettes. It's an image of a woman on a very ornate set, and the tones make me feel like I'm looking at something from a very distant past. What stands out to you? Curator: The symbols used here whisper of a very specific cultural memory. The actress, Miss Schwartz, is posed within an idealized setting—almost theatrical with its suggestive arcadia. Think of what is missing. Do you see smoke? Editor: No, but now that you mention it, that is an absence that makes you think. Curator: Exactly! This card is not just selling cigarettes; it's selling an *idea* linked to pleasure, beauty and status. What is more, it links them to the figure of a performer. Consider what an actress signified in that era – access to glamour but, by definition, it would also mean something less stable, something more transitory. Consider also the implications behind how cigarettes themselves functioned as symbols of nascent freedom and independence, but of course addiction. Editor: So the card condenses all these potent cultural ideas… Curator: Precisely! The ornate set, the actress's carefully constructed pose, and the subtle hint of allure woven with something inherently ephemeral all converge to create a layered message far beyond just marketing tobacco. It becomes a study in the semiotics of desire. Editor: I never would have thought a cigarette card could hold so much meaning! It’s incredible how much a single image can communicate about a society’s values. Curator: Indeed. The image carries echoes of an age. It invites a much broader range of investigations to follow.