Kittie Wells, 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
63.350.220.245.1941
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 1890s advertising with *Kittie Wells, from the Actresses series (N245)*, a petite albumen photograph produced by the Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company. This tiny card (just 2½ × 1⅞ inches) was part of a popular series designed to promote Sweet Caporal Cigarettes, featuring glamorous portraits of actresses like Kittie Wells. Distributed inside cigarette packs or as trade cards, these collectibles tapped into the era's craze for celebrity imagery, turning everyday smokers into avid hobbyists. The albumen print medium—made by coating paper with egg whites and silver ...
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...