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

This card featuring Anna Thompson comes from a series of actress portraits produced around 1890 by the Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company as promotional material for Sweet Caporal Cigarettes. These cards reflect the rising popularity of celebrity culture in the late 19th century United States, fueled by the growth of mass media and advertising. Actresses, like Thompson, were among the first celebrities, their images widely circulated and consumed. The cards blur the lines between art, commerce, and entertainment. They served as a form of advertising, leveraging the fame of actresses to sell tobacco products. But they also functioned as collectibles, feeding into the public's fascination with celebrity. To understand these images, we can consult theater programs, newspapers, and other period sources that reveal the actresses' public persona and the cultural values they embodied. Analyzing these artifacts, we can see the complex interplay of social, economic, and cultural forces shaping the production and consumption of art.