Miss Shall, 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
63.350.220.245.1668
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 1890s Americana with *Miss Shall, from the Actresses series (N245)*, a petite albumen photograph produced by the Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company. This tiny portrait (just 2 1/2 × 1 7/16 inches) captures the poised elegance of actress Miss Shall, one of many theatrical stars featured in a promotional series for Sweet Caporal Cigarettes. Tucked into cigarette packs as collectible trading cards, these ephemera cards turned everyday smoking into a gateway for celebrity fandom. Albumen prints, made by coating paper with egg whites and silver salts, delivered the shar...
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...