Card 580, Daisy Hall, from the Actors and Actresses series (N45, Type 2) 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
63.350.203.45.934
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the glittering world of 19th-century theater with *Card 580, Daisy*, a charming portrait from Allen & Ginter's Actors and Actresses series (N45, Type 2), issued around 1888 to promote Virginia Brights Cig. This tiny gem, measuring just 2 3/4 x 1 3/8 inches, captures the poised elegance of actress Daisy Hall, one of many performers immortalized in these collectible trading cards. Tucked inside cigarette packs, they fueled a collecting craze among Americans, blending celebrity culture with clever marketing. Printed as an albumen photograph—a pioneering 19th-century process using egg-w...
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...