Lillie Wilson, 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
63.350.220.245.1970
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 1890s advertising with *Lillie Wilson, from Actresses series (N)*, a petite album photograph produced by the Kinney Brothers Company to promote their Sweet Caporal Cigarettes This charming card features the actress Lillie Wilson, of many celebrated performers immortalized in a popular series that turned everyday cigarette packs into collectible treasures. At just 2½ × 1⅞ inches, these ephemera were designed for easy distribution and hoarding, capturing the Gilded Age's obsession with theater stars and glamorous women. The albumen print medium, a hallmark of 19th...
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...