Mrs. Brown Potter, from the Actors and Actresses series (N45, Type 1) for Virginia Brights Cigarettes
ca. 1888
Medium
Albumen photograph
Dimensions
Sheet: 2 3/4 x 1 3/8 in. (7 x 3.5 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
63.350.203.45.409
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the glittering world of 19th-century theater with this petite albumen photograph of Mrs. Brown Potter, celebrated American actress known for her commanding stage presence. Produced around 1888 by the tobacco firm Allen & G, this card is part of their Actors and Actresses series (45, Type 1), issued to promote Virginia Brightsarettes. Measuring just 2¾ × 1⅜ inches, its intimate profile portrait captures Potter's poised elegance, a nod to the era's fascination with performers as cultural icons. These cards revolutionized advertising and collecting, blending photography's precision wit...
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...