Florrie West, 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
63.350.220.245.1943
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 1890s American ephemera with *Florrie West, from the Actresses series (N245)*, a petite albumen photograph produced by the Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company to promote their Sweet Caporal Cigarettes. This charming portrait captures the alluring actress Florrie West, one of many glamorous performers featured in this popular trading card series. Measuring just 2 1/2 × 1 7/16 inches, these cards were tucked into cigarette packs, enticing collectors—mostly men—to buy more for the chance at a full set of theater stars. Albumen prints, the medium here, were the gold sta...
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...