May Leicester, from the Actors and Actresses series (N45, Type 1) for Virginia Brights Cigarettes
ca. 1888
Medium
Albumen photograph
Dimensions
Sheet: 2 3/4 x 1 3/8 in. (7 x 3.5 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
63.350.203.45.339
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the glittering world of late 19th-century theater with *May Leicester, from the Actors and Actresses series (N45, Type 1)* for Virginia Brights Cigarettes, produced by the pioneering tobacco company Allen & Ginter around 1888. This petite albumen photograph captures the poised elegance of British actress May Leicester, one of many celebrated performers featured in this popular series. Inserted into cigarette packs as collectible trading cards, these ephemera were a clever marketing innovation, enticing smokers—especially men—to save and trade them, while immortalizing stage stars for...
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...