Gertrude Whitty, 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
63.350.220.245.1947
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the late 19th century, tobacco companies like Kinney Brothers pioneered innovative marketing with cigarette cards—tiny, collectible images tucked into cigarette packs to entice buyers. This charming albumen photograph, *Gertrude Whitty* from the Actresses seriesN245), issued in 1890 to promote Sweet Caporal Cig, exemplifies that trend. Measuring just 2½ × 1⅜ inches, it's a petite portrait of the actress, capturing her poised elegance in a format designed for avid collectors to trade and album. Albumen prints, the dominant photographic medium of the era, used egg-white coatings on paper for...
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...