Minnie Thurgate, from the Actresses series (N245) issued by Kinney Brothers to promote Sweet Caporal Cigarettes 1890

This carte de visite, part of the "Actresses" series, features Minnie Thurgate, a popular stage actress of the late 19th century. The photograph, produced by Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company in 1890, was likely used as a promotional item for their Sweet Caporal Cigarettes. The image, typical of the genre, presents Thurgate in a simple, elegant pose. She stands facing the camera, her gaze slightly off-center, in a white dress, adding to the allure and gracefulness of the subject. This piece, now held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, is a valuable artifact of late 19th-century American theater and advertising.