Hope Ross, from the Actresses series (N245) issued by Kinney Brothers to promote Sweet Caporal Cigarettes

Art Historical Context

Step into the vibrant world of 1890s advertising with *Hope Ross, from the Actresses seriesN245)*, a petite albumen photograph produced by the Kinney Brothers Company to promote their Sweet Caporal Cigarettes. charming portrait captures the alluring actress Hope Ross, one of many glamorous performers featured in the series. At just 2 1/2 × 1 7/16 inches, it was designed as collectible ephemera— tucked into cigarette packs to entice smokers and spark a trading craze among enthusiasts. Albumen prints, the medium of choice in the late 19th century, delivered crisp details and warm tones thanks to a light-sensitive coating made from egg whites and silver salts. This technique made photography accessible and reproducible on a mass scale, perfectly suiting tobacco companies' bold marketing strategies. Kinney Brothers tapped into the era's celebrity worship, using actresses' star power to glamorize smoking during a time when cigarettes were gaining popularity among American men. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department as part of the Jefferson R. Burdick Collection, this tiny gem highlights the intersection of commerce, photography, and popular culture. It reminds us how everyday objects like trading cards immortalized the theatrical icons of Gilded Age America, blending art with commerce in unexpectedly delightful ways.

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...