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

This is a promotional card for Sweet Caporal Cigarettes, produced in the late 19th century by the Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company. It features a photograph of Lottie Williams, an actress popular at the time. These cards were part of a broader marketing strategy that used images of actresses to promote tobacco products. The actresses' images, glamorous and widely circulated, helped to associate smoking with sophistication and allure, and they speak to a society with emerging consumer culture and expanding mass media. The cards also reflect the commercialization of celebrity culture and the growing importance of advertising in shaping consumer habits. Understanding the social history of images like these requires us to look beyond the artwork itself. Archival research, studies of advertising history, and cultural studies can provide insights into the complex relationship between art, commerce, and society.