Alice Vincent, from the Actresses series (N245) issued by Kinney Brothers to promote Sweet Caporal Cigarettes
Medium
Albumen photograph
Dimensions
Sheet: 2 1/2 × 1 7/16 in. (6.4 × 3.7 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
63.350.220.245.1880
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the late 19th century, American tobacco companies like the Kin Brothers Tobacco Company revolutionized advertising by inserting collectible cards into cigarette packs. This petite albumen photograph, titled *Alice Vincent, from the Actresses series (N245 and issued in 1890 promote Sweet Caporal Cigarettes, exemplifies that trend. Measuring just 2 1/2 × 1 7/16 inches, it captures the celebrated actress Alice Vincent in a format, designed for enthusiasts to trade and preserve. Albumen prints, made by coating paper with egg whites and silver salts, were the gold standard for photography at th...
About the Artist
Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company · 1869–2011
**Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company (1869–2011)** Founded around 1869 by Francis Sherwood Kinney in New York City, the Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company quickly rose to prominence in the burgeoning American cigarette industry. Francis, a pioneering tobacco manufacturer, experimented with hand-rolled cigarettes using blends of Turkish and Virginia tobacco, scaling to mass production by employing Europ...