Annam, from the Dancing Girls of the World series (N185) issued by Wm. S. Kimball & Co.
Medium
Commercial color lithograph
Dimensions
Sheet: 2 11/16 × 1 1/2 in. (6.8 × 3.8 cm)
Classification
Prints|Ephemera
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Jefferson R. Burdick Collection, Gift of Jefferson R. Burdick
Accession Number
63.350.216.185.5
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of late 19th-century advertising with *Annam, from the Dancing Girls of the World (N185)*, a diminutive commercial color lithograph by William S. Kimball & Company in 1889. Measuring just 2 11/16 × 1 1/2 inches, this tiny print captures an idealized dancer from Annam (modern-day central Vietnam), part of a popular series featuring women performers from around the globe. Issued as collectible inserts in Kimball's tobacco products, these ephemera cards blended commerce with escapism, enticing smokers with exotic imagery during an era of expanding global trade and colo...
About the Artist
William S. Kimball & Company
**William S. Kimball & Company**, a pioneering American tobacco manufacturer, was established in 1846 in Rochester, New York, by William S. Kimball and James C. Hart. The firm quickly grew into one of the city's largest employers, particularly of women, producing popular brands like Peerless chewing tobacco, Rigatta and Fireside smoking tobacco, and Vanity Fair cigarettes. Under Kimball's leadersh...