Lillian Russell, from the Actors and Actresses series (N45, Type 8) for Virginia Brights Cigarettes
ca. 1888
Medium
Albumen photograph
Dimensions
Sheet: 2 5/8 x 1 1/2 in. (6.6 x 3.8 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
63.350.203.45.1498
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the glittering world of Gilded Age celebrity with this petite albumen photograph of Lillian Russell, the reigning diva of American theater. Issued around 1888 by the firm Allen & Ginter part of their Actors and Actresses series (45, Type 8) for Virginia Brights Cig, this card captures Russell's poised elegance in a format designed for collectors. Measuring just 2⅝ × 1½ inches, it was tucked into cigarette packs, sparking a craze for trading these vivid portraits of stage stars. Albumen prints, the dominant photographic medium of the 19th century, lent these ephemera their sharp deta...
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...