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

This promotional image of Lilie Sinclair, part of the Actresses series, was produced by the Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company to market Sweet Caporal Cigarettes. These cards were immensely popular at the turn of the century, offering a glimpse into the lives and personas of actresses. Yet they also reveal a complex dynamic between celebrity, commercialism, and the objectification of women. Sinclair, like many actresses of her time, navigated the blurred lines between artistic expression and being a commodity. While these images offered actresses visibility, they also confined them to the male gaze, turning them into objects of desire. Consider how Sinclair's pose and attire might have been carefully constructed to appeal to a specific audience. These cards, distributed with tobacco products, normalized the consumption of both cigarettes and female images, reflecting and shaping early 20th-century attitudes towards gender, performance, and consumer culture.