Seated actress, from the Actresses series (N664) promoting Old Fashion Fine Cut Tobacco
Unknown Artist
1888–90
Medium
Albumen photograph
Dimensions
Sheet: 3 3/8 in. × 2 in. (8.5 × 5.1 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
Burdick 230, N664.120
Tags
Art Historical Context
This charming albumen photograph, titled *Seated Actress, from the Actresses (N664)*, a poised woman in elegant attire, likely promoting Old Fashion Fine Cut Tobacco around 1888–90. Measuring just 3⅜ × 2 inches, this petite print exemplifies the era's trade cards—inexpensive ephemera distributed by merchants to advertise products. Produced using the albumen process, where egg whites sensitized paper for sharp, warm-toned images, it early commercial photography's technical finesse, blending portraiture with marketing savvy. In the late 19th century, American tobacco companies like those behind...