Lydia Page, 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
63.350.220.245.1418
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 1890s American popular culture with *Lydia Page, from Actresses series (N)*, a petite albumen photograph issued by Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company promote their Sweet Caporal Cigarettes This tiny portrait (just 2½ × 1⅞ inches) captures the celebrated actress Lydia Page, one of many theatrical stars featured in this collectible series. Produced as inserts in cigarette packs, these cards turned smoking into a gateway for trading and fandom, blending commerce with celebrity worship during the Gilded Age. The medium—an albumen print, made by coating paper with egg w...
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...