Alex Martins, from the Actors and Actresses series (N45, Type 1) for Virginia Brights Cigarettes
ca. 1888
Medium
Albumen photograph
Dimensions
Sheet: 2 3/4 x 1 3/8 in. (7 x 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
63.350.203.45.734
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the glittering world late 19th-century with this petite albumen of actress Alex Martins, of Allen & Ginter *Actors and Actresses series (N45, 1) for Virginias Cigarettes, circa1888. Measuring just2 3/4 1 3/ inches, this profile portrait the poised elegance of a star, her features rendered in sharp detail typical of albumen prints—a popular photographic process using egg-white-coated paper to produce rich tones and fine clarity from glass negatives. Produced by the tobacco firm Allen & G, these cards were tucked into cigarette packs as clever marketing ploys, sparking a collecting cr...
About the Artist
Allen & Ginter
Allen & Ginter, the pioneering American tobacco firm based in Richmond, Virginia, emerged around 1880 from the partnership of John F. Allen and Lewis Ginter, evolving from Allen's earlier John F. Allen & Company. Allen retired in 1882, succeeded by John Pope, yet the brand endured under Ginter's leadership, employing over 1,100 workers—mostly women—for hand-rolled cigarettes by 1886. Ginter, a Dut...