May Waldron, 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
63.350.220.245.1906
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 1890s advertising with *May Waldron, from the Actresses series (245)*, a petite albumen photograph issued by Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company promote their popular Sweet Caporal Cigarettes Measuring just 2½ × 1⅞ inches, this tiny card captures the allure of May Waldron, a celebrated of the era, embodying the era's fascination with theater stars. Kinney Brothers pioneered these collectible "cigarette cards," distributing millions to entice smokers and spark a collecting craze among enthusiasts. Printed via the albumen process—a hallmark of 19th-century photography...
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...