Miss Eastlake, from the Actors and Actresses series (N45, Type 8) for Virginia Brights Cigarettes
ca. 1888
Medium
Albumen photograph
Dimensions
Sheet: 2 5/8 x 1 1/2 in. (6.6 x 3.8 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
63.350.203.45.1289
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the glittering world of 19th-century theater with *Miss Eastlake, from the Actors and Actresses (N45, Type 8) for Virginia Bright Cigarettes*, a charming albumen photograph produced around 1888 by the tobacco firm Allen & G. This petite card, measuring just 2 5/8 x 1 1/2 inches, captures the poised profile of the actress, embodying the era's fascination with stage celebrities Part of a popular series of trading cards inserted into cigarette packs, it transformed everyday smoking into a collector's pastime, sparking a craze for these pocket-sized portraits. Albumen prints, made by co...
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...