Groupe, Eden, from the Actors and Actresses series (N45, Type 1) 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
63.350.203.45.283
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the glamorous world of 19th theater with *Groupe, Eden*, a petite albumen photograph from Allen & Ginter's *Actors and Actresses* (N45, Type 1), issued around 1888 to promote Brights Cigarettes. by the innovative tobacco firm Allen & Ginter—pioneers of collectible insert cards—these tiny portraits (just 2¾ × 1⅜ inches) featured celebrated actresses posed with elegant vases, capturing the era's fascination with stage stars like the enigmatic "Eden." Tucked into cigarette packs, they turned smoking into a hobby for collectors, blending advertising savvy with celebrity allure. Crafted ...
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...