Mlle. Steading, from the Actresses series (N245) issued by Kinney Brothers to promote Sweet Caporal Cigarettes 1890

This is a photograph of Mlle Steading from the Actresses Series, produced around the turn of the century by the Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company. The image connects to the wider cultural context of the time, revealing the ways in which commercial and entertainment industries were intertwined. The photograph, like others in the series, uses visual cues such as formal attire, floral arrangements, and portraiture conventions to create meaning. These small cards were inserted into cigarette packs as a marketing strategy, revealing much about the era's social values, gender roles, and consumer culture. The actress series, produced by the Kinney Brothers, speaks to the growing recognition of actresses as public figures and also the way in which their images could be used to promote the pleasures of smoking. To understand such artifacts better, historians can delve into company records, advertising archives, and biographical information about the actresses themselves, enabling us to appreciate the complex layers of meaning embedded within this seemingly simple image.