Gladdy Virvian, 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
63.350.220.245.1885
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the glamorous world of 1890s theater with *Gladdy Virvian, from the Actresses seriesN245)*, a petite albumen photograph issued by the Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company to promote popular Sweet Caporal Cigarettes. trading cards, tucked into cigarette packs, were a clever marketing ploy during America's Gilded Age, transforming everyday tobacco purchases into collectible treasures. Featuring portraits of celebrated actresses like Virvian—a stage star of the era—they captured the public's fascination with vaudeville and Broadway luminaries, blending celebrity culture with consumer adverti...
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...