Frl. Dryberg, from the Actresses series (N246), Type 2, issued by Kinney Brothers to promote Sporting Extra Cigarettes
ca. 1890
Medium
Albumen photograph
Dimensions
Sheet: 3 1/16 × 2 7/8 in. (7.7 × 7.3 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
63.350.220.246.59
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the glittering world of 1890s theater with *Frl. Dryberg, from the Actresses series (N246), Type 2*, a charming albumen photograph issued by the Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company to their Sporting Extra Cigarettes. This portrait (just 3 1/16 × 2 7/8 inches) captures the poised elegance of Frl. Dryberg—likely a stage actress, as "Frl." denotes the German "Fräulein"—embodying the era's fascination with female performers. Produced around 1890, it belongs to a popular series of collectible cigarette cards, which were tucked into tobacco packs to entice smokers and foster a trading craze among enthusiasts. Cigarette cards like this one marked a pivotal moment in advertising and popular culture, transforming everyday ephemera into coveted keepsakes. Kinney Brothers, innovative tobacconists, leveraged the rising star power of actresses to glamorize their brand amid America's Gilded Age boom in mass production and consumer goods. The albumen process, using egg whites to bind light-sensitive chemicals, delivered the sharp detail and subtle tones that made these cards so visually appealing, bridging photography's technical precision with portraiture's intimacy. Today, this gem from The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Jefferson R. Burdick Collection highlights how commerce and celebrity intertwined, offering a window into Victorian-era leisure and the dawn of modern merchandising. A delightful snapshot of fame's fleeting allure!
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...