Boyle, Pitcher, Indianapolis, from the Gold Coin series (N284) for Gold Coin Chewing Tobacco
Medium
Commercial color lithograph reproducing drawing
Dimensions
Sheet: 3 1/16 x 1 3/4 in. (7.7 x 4.5 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
63.350.222.284.106
Tags
Art Historical Context
This small 1887 color lithograph belongs to the Gold Coin Chewing Tobacco series issued by D. Buchner & Co. of New York. Measuring just over three by one-and-three-quarter inches, it depicts Boyle, a pitcher for the Indianapolis team, as part of an early promotional campaign that paired tobacco products with images of popular baseball players. At a time when professional baseball was rapidly gaining national attention, such cards served as both advertising and the first widely distributed collectibles for the sport. Printed through commercial lithography that reproduced a drawing, the card ex...
About the Artist
D. Buchner & Co., New York · 1850–1900
D. Buchner & Co. was a New York-based tobacco manufacturer prominent in the American market during the 1880s, best known today for its Gold Coin Chewing Tobacco brand and the vivid trade cards the company inserted into its product packaging to drive consumer loyalty. The firm was one of numerous tobacco companies that, during the boom years of American commercial printing, recognized the marketing...