Jessie Villars, 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
63.350.220.245.1877
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 1890s advertising with *Jessie Villars, from the Actresses series (N245)*, a diminutive albumen photograph produced by the Kinney Brothers Company to promote their Sweet Caporal Cigarettes This tiny portrait (just 2½ × 1⅜ inches) captures the poised elegance of actress Jessie Villars, one of many celebrated performers featured in this collectible series. Tucked into cigarette packs, these cards were ephemera at its finest—affordable treasures that turned smoking into a gateway for celebrity fandom. Albumen prints, popular in the mid-to-late 19th century, brought...
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...