Patti, from Leaders series (N222) issued by Kinney Bros. 1888

This color lithograph of ‘Patti’ was produced by Kinney Bros. Tobacco Company in the United States at the end of the 19th century. It comes from a series called 'Leaders', which sought to associate smoking with ideas of celebrity and success. The image of the singer is accompanied by a mandolin, sheet music, and a laurel wreath. These are visual codes indicating Patti’s fame as a singer, but what kind of fame was this? Tobacco cards were often collected by working-class men and boys. They provide a fascinating insight into the figures that appealed to this demographic. We might consider the extent to which the subject's fame has been amplified or possibly even created by the institutions of consumer culture. The image can be better understood through research into the Kinney Bros. Tobacco Company and popular entertainments of the period. To what extent were women like Patti packaged and consumed in ways that reinforced existing social hierarchies? Considering art as a product of its social and institutional context can prompt many such questions.