[Actress in full-length shows off ornate gown], from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-8) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Duke Cigarettes
![[Actress in full-length shows off ornate gown], from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-8) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Duke Cigarettes by American Tobacco Company|W. Duke, Sons & Co.](https://images.artheonmuseum.org/met/dp/thumb/actress-in-full-length-shows-off-ornate-gown-from-650427.webp)
Medium
Albumen photograph
Dimensions
Sheet: 2 11/16 × 1 3/8 in. (6.8 × 3.5 cm)
Classification
Photographs|Ephemera
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Jefferson R. Burdick Collection, Gift of Jefferson R. Burdick
Accession Number
63.350.208.145.8.307
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the glittering world of 1890s theater with this petite albumen photograph from theActors and Actresses* (N145-8), issued by W. Duke, Sons & Co. to promote their Duke Cigarettes. Dated around 1891, the card captures an unidentified actress in a full-length pose proudly showcasing her ornate gown. Measuring just 2 11/16 × 1 3/8 inches, this delicate ephemera exemplifies the era's cigarette trading cards—small, collectible inserts tucked into cigarette packs to entice smokers and spark a collecting craze. Albumen prints, made by coating paper with egg whites and silver salts, delivered...
About the Artist
American Tobacco Company|W. Duke, Sons & Co.
**American Tobacco Company (1890–1911)** Founded on January 31, 1890, in Durham, North Carolina, by James Buchanan Duke, the American Tobacco Company emerged from the consolidation of five major U.S. tobacco manufacturers: W. Duke & Sons, Allen & Ginter, Goodwin & Company, W.S. Kimball & Co., and Kinney Brothers. Under Duke's aggressive leadership, it rapidly achieved monopoly status, controlling...