Miss Wiley, 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
63.350.220.245.1950
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the late 19th century, tobacco companies like the Kinney Brothers revolutionized advertising with collectible cigarette cards, transforming everyday purchases into a treasure hunt. "Miss Wiley, from theresses series (N245 issued in 1890 to promote Sweet Caporal Cig, exemplifies this clever marketing. This petite albumen photograph—measuring just 2½ × 1⅞ inches—features a portrait of the actress Miss Wiley, one of dozens in the series celebrating theater stars. Printed on egg-white-coated paper with silver salts, the medium delivers the sharp detail and warm tones typical of 19th-century pho...
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...