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

This is a cabinet card, a type of photographic print popular in the late 19th century. It depicts actress Laura Burt, issued by the Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company in 1890 to promote their Sweet Caporal Cigarettes. The portrait features a posed Burt, in a simple dress and bonnet, with a soft, romantic background. The image showcases the trend of using celebrity endorsements in product marketing, a strategy that continues today. The card is a visual record of the actress and a piece of early advertising history, now housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.