Two dancers with high kick, 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
63.350.220.245.2035
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 1890s advertising with *Two Dancers with High Kick*, lively albumen photograph from Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company's Actresses series (N245 Produced to promote their popular Sweet Caporal Cigarettes this tiny card—measuring just 2½ × 1⅞ inches—features two energetic female performers captured mid-leap in a bold high-kick pose. Albumen prints, coated with egg whites for their sharp detail and warm tones, were ideal for these mass-produced inserts, making everyday cigarette packs a gateway to glamour. Issued during the Gilded Age boom in collectible trade cards, ...
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...