Pre-War Cards

‘It’s In The Details’

Title	Kinney Actresses & Famous People (N246)
Year	1890
Size	2 7/8″ x 3 1/16″
Images	Sepia
Type	19th Century Tobacco
Number in Set	Unknown

1890 Kinney Actresses & Famous People Overview

These odd cards were produced by Kinney Brothers in the late 1800s. Jefferson Burdick termed this as a set of actresses in the American Card Catalog when he designated them as N246.

However, we know that to be untrue as at least a pair of boxing cards are in it. Because of that, I’ve slightly modified the title to make it more relevant, calling it ‘Actresses and Famous People.’

While most cards in the set are indeed actresses like the one shown here, at least two were dedicated to boxing great John Sullivan. That was not too uncommon as Sullivan, the most popular boxer of the time, found his way into quite a few 19th Century sets that were mostly non-sports issues.

You can see pictures of the Sullivan cards here.

The cards have a really unique look to them. The first thing that stands out is that they are virtually a perfect square and resemble the 1930s gum cards only with sepia images.

Finally, note that the 1890 date is only an estimate.

1890 Kinney Actresses & Famous People Checklist

The two John Sullivan cards are the only ones I have seen from this set. Other boxers could exist, however.

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