Sibyl Anderson, 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
63.350.220.245.1636
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the late 19th century, American tobacco companies like Kinney Brothers pioneered innovative marketing by issuing collectible trade cards featuring celebrities, transforming cigarette packs into portals of popular culture. This petite albumen photograph, *Sibyl Anderson, from Actresses series (N)*, dates to 1890 and promotes the Sweet Caporal brand. Part of a larger set celebrating stage stars, it captures the allure of actress Sibyl Anderson in a intimate portrait, reflecting the era's fascination with theater luminaries as glamorous icons. Albumen prints, the dominant photographic medium ...
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...