Ruth Ward, 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
63.350.220.245.1993
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the glamorous world of 1890s theater with *Ruth Ward, from the Actresses series (N245)*, a tiny yet captivating albumen photograph issued by the Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company. Produced to promote their popular Sweet Caporal Cigarettes, this card is part of a celebrated set featuring prominent actresses of the era. At just 2½ × 1⅞ inches, it was designed as collectible ephemera—slipped into cigarette packs to entice smokers and spark a trading craze among enthusiasts. Ruth Ward, a stage star of her time, is portrayed in a classic portrait format, embodying the allure and poise that...
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...