Barry, Philadelphia, American League, from the White Border series (T206) for the American Tobacco Company
1909–11
Medium
Commercial color lithograph
Dimensions
Sheet: 2 5/8 x 1 7/16 in. (6.7 x 3.7 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
63.350.246.206.129
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the early 20th-century world of America's pastime with this vibrant *Barry, Philadelphia, American League* card from the legendary T206 White Border series, produced by the American Tobacco Company 1909 and 1911. This petite commercial color lithograph (just 2 5/8 x 1 7/16 inches) captures shortstop Jack Barry of the Philadelphia Athletics in a crisp portrait, his intense gaze and classic uniform embodying the grit of baseball's burgeoning golden age. As part of a massive set of over 500 cards inserted into cigarette packs, these ephemera were clever marketing tools, enticing smokers...
About the Artist
American Tobacco Company
**American Tobacco Company (1890–1911)** Founded on January 31, 1890, in Durham, North Carolina, by James Buchanan Duke, the American Tobacco Company emerged from the consolidation of five major U.S. tobacco manufacturers: W. Duke & Sons, Allen & Ginter, Goodwin & Company, W.S. Kimball & Co., and Kinney Brothers. Under Duke's aggressive leadership, it rapidly achieved monopoly status, controlling...