Lansing Rowan, 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
63.350.220.245.1588
Tags
Art Historical Context
This delicate albumen photograph from 1890 captures Lansing Rowan, a stage actress of the era, as part of theresses series (N245) issued by the Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company. Measuring just 2½ by 1⅞ inches, the small card was designed as a promotional insert for Sweet Caporal Cigarettes. Produced through the albumen process, which yields rich tonal detail and a warm sepia hue, the image reflects the high-quality photographic techniques available at the close of the nineteenth century. Such cards were among the earliest forms of celebrity ephemera, helping tobacco companies build brand loyal...
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...