Mlle. Tissot, 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
63.350.220.245.1811
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the late 19th century, tobacco companies like Kinney Brothers innovative advertising through collectible trade cards inserted into cigarette packs. This petite albumen photograph, *Mlle. Tissot, from the Actresses (N245)*, issued in 1890 to promote Sweet Caporal Cig, captures the allure of a French actress in a formal portrait. Measuring just 2½ × 1⅞ inches, these cards were designed for easy collection and trading, turning everyday purchases into a gateway for celebrity fandom. Albumen prints, made by coating paper with egg whites and silver salts, were the gold standard for photography i...
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...