Two actresses, one holding sword, 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
63.350.220.245.2037
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 1890s advertising with *Two Actresses, One Holding Sword* from Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company's Actresses series (N245). This tiny albumen photograph, measuring just 2½ × 1⅞ inches, captures two glamorous performers in a dramatic pose—one brandishing a sword—evoking the theatrical flair of the Gilded Age. Issued to promote Sweet Caporal Cigarettes, it was tucked into cigarette packs as a collectible enticement, blending celebrity portraiture with commercial savvy. Albumen prints, popular in the 19th century, produced sharp, richly toned images from paper coated...
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...