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

This photograph of Ada Melrose was produced by the Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company as a promotional item for Sweet Caporal Cigarettes. These cards, trading cards if you will, were very popular at the end of the nineteenth century in the United States. The image presents us with an actress, Ada Melrose. We can assume that she was a celebrity at that time. The photograph suggests her beauty and charm through her dress, hair, and the way she is posed. The purpose of this image was to connect those qualities of beauty to the consumption of cigarettes. In doing so, it uses the social institution of celebrity culture to normalize the use of tobacco. As historians, we look into sources such as newspapers, census records, theatre programs, and business records to understand the social and economic context in which this image was created. These methods allow us to better understand the power dynamics that exist when social institutions like art, celebrity and advertising, converge.