Card Number 19, Sadie Martinot, from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-6) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Duke Cigarettes 1880s

This is Card Number 19, Sadie Martinot, from the Actors and Actresses series, a lithograph issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Duke Cigarettes. Commercial imagery of this kind provides a fascinating glimpse into the social and cultural fabric of late 19th-century America. Cigarette cards, like this one, were inserted into packs as a marketing strategy. They capitalized on the burgeoning cult of celebrity, particularly within the theater. By associating their product with popular actresses like Sadie Martinot, Duke Cigarettes aimed to enhance their brand image and appeal to a broad consumer base. The visual codes are revealing. Martinot is depicted in an idealized manner, her beauty and elegance meant to entice smokers. The card also subtly reinforces prevailing gender norms, presenting the actress as an object of admiration and desire. Analyzing business records, marketing strategies, and theatrical archives helps us understand both the economic imperatives that drove the production of such images and the social values that they reflected and helped to shape. Such historical sources can reveal the complex interplay between commerce, culture, and identity in the Gilded Age.