Victoria Schilling, 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
63.350.220.245.1656
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the glittering world of 1890s American theater with this petite albumen photograph of actress Victoria Schilling, part of the *Actresses* series (N245). Produced by the Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company, this tiny card—measuring just 2½ × 1⅞ inches—was issued to promote their popular Sweet Caporal Cigarettes. Tucked into cigarette packs as collectible trading cards, it captures Schilling's poised portrait, embodying the era's ideal of feminine allure and stage stardom. Albumen prints, the dominant photographic medium of the 19th century, lent these ephemera sharp detail and a warm ton...
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...