Bugler of Infantry, French Army, 1886, from the Military Series (N224) issued by Kinney Tobacco Company to promote Sweet Caporal Cigarettes
Medium
Commercial color lithograph
Dimensions
Sheet: 2 3/4 × 1 1/2 in. (7 × 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
Burdick 218, N224.368
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 19th-century advertising with *Bugler of Infantry, Army, 1886*, a tiny yet striking commercial color lithograph produced by the Kinney Brothers Company in 1888 Measuring just 2 3/4 × 1 1/2 inches, this ephemera piece from the Military Series (N224) a poised French infantryman sounding his trumpet, embodying the era's romanticized view of soldiers. Issued as premiums with Sweet Caporal Cigarettes these cards were collectibles designed to boost brand loyalty among smokers. Chromolithography, the medium here, revolutionized mass printing by layering vibrant colors ...
About the Artist
Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company · 1869–2011
**Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company (1869–2011)** Founded around 1869 by Francis Sherwood Kinney in New York City, the Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company quickly rose to prominence in the burgeoning American cigarette industry. Francis, a pioneering tobacco manufacturer, experimented with hand-rolled cigarettes using blends of Turkish and Virginia tobacco, scaling to mass production by employing Europ...