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

This photograph, printed by the Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company in the late nineteenth century, was distributed to promote Sweet Caporal Cigarettes. It’s part of a series entitled ‘Actresses.’ But is the woman depicted really an actress? This image, like others in the series, relies on popular stereotypes. The woman’s headdress and veil give her a generalized ‘Oriental’ appearance, a fantasy that would have been familiar to audiences in the United States. By the 1890s, so-called ‘Orientalist’ imagery had become a popular marketing tool. It drew on the aesthetics of imperialism, exoticizing and misrepresenting other cultures to sell goods. This was a period when the United States witnessed a growth in consumer culture and the mass media. Careful historical research, including scrutiny of company records, can help us better understand the social context in which these images were produced and consumed. They reveal the power of visual culture to shape and reinforce social attitudes.