Mlle. Tissot, from the Actresses series (N245) issued by Kinney Brothers to promote Sweet Caporal Cigarettes

Art Historical Context

In the late 19th century, tobacco companies like Kinney Brothers innovative advertising through collectible trade cards inserted into cigarette packs. This petite albumen photograph, *Mlle. Tissot, from the Actresses (N245)*, issued in 1890 to promote Sweet Caporal Cig, captures the allure of a French actress in a formal portrait. Measuring just 2½ × 1⅞ inches, these cards were designed for easy collection and trading, turning everyday purchases into a gateway for celebrity fandom. Albumen prints, made by coating paper with egg whites and silver salts, were the gold standard for photography in the Victorian era, offering rich tonal depth and fine detail ideal for mass reproduction. As ephemera classified in the Met's Drawings and Prints department, this piece exemplifies how commercial photography blurred lines between art and commerce, immortalizing stage stars like Mlle. Tissot to glamorize the brand. Part of The Jefferson R. Burdick Collection—a landmark gift to the Metropolitan Museum of Art—these cards highlight Gilded Age cultural obsessions with theater, women in the spotlight, and consumer ephemera. They offer a window into how advertising harnessed portraiture to captivate audiences, blending artistry with the era's booming tobacco trade.

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...