Card 705, Fanny Rice, 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
63.350.203.45.976
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the glittering world of 19th-century American theater with *Card 705, Fanny Rice*, a charming albumen photograph from Allen & Ginter's Actors and Actresses series (45, Type 2), issued around 1888 to promote Virginia Brights Cig. This petite card (just 2 3/4 x 1 3/8 inches) captures the profile of Fanny Rice, a popular stage actress, in a poised, elegant pose that highlights her as a star of vaudeville and dramatic productions. Albumen prints, made with egg-white sensitized paper, were prized for their sharp detail and warm tones, making these tiny portraits surprisingly vivid collect...
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...