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

This photograph of Mariede Wolf is from the Actresses series, made by Kinney Brothers in the late 19th century to promote Sweet Caporal Cigarettes. These cards reflect the burgeoning commercial culture of America. The image's meaning lies in the cultural context of celebrity endorsements, particularly actresses, to sell products. Kinney Brothers used the popularity of actresses to associate their cigarettes with glamour, beauty, and theatricality. This marketing strategy reveals much about the social status of actresses at the time as being both admired and, to some extent, morally suspect. It also speaks to the rise of consumer culture where personal identity was increasingly linked to purchased goods. To understand this photograph fully, we need to research the biographies of actresses like Mariede Wolf, the Kinney Brothers' marketing strategies, and the social history of tobacco advertising. The Library of Congress offers many online resources, and newspaper archives can tell us a lot about the cultural assumptions that shaped the production and reception of these images.