Litta, 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
63.350.220.245.1180
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of late 19th-century advertising *Litta, from theresses series (N245, a petite albumen photograph produced by the Kinney Brothers Company in 1890 promote their popular Sweet Caporal Cig. This tiny card, measuring just 2½ × 1⅞ inches, captures the allure of actress Litta—likely a stage star of the era—posed elegantly to entice collectors and smokers alike. Part of a larger series celebrating women in theater, it exemplifies how tobacco companies transformed ephemera into coveted collectibles. Albumen prints, the medium here, were a hallmark of 19th-century photograp...
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...