Capstan, from the Novelties series (N228, Type 3) issued by Kinney Bros.
Medium
Commercial color lithograph
Dimensions
Sheet: 2 1/16 × 1 1/2 in. (5.3 × 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, N228.136
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 19th-century American advertising with *Capstan, from the Novelties (N228, Type 3)*, a diminutive commercial color lithograph by the Kinney Brothers Company in 1889 Issued as promotional inserts in cigarette packages, these cards were part of a popular trend where tobacco firms like Kinney Bros. enticed collectors—often children and enthusiasts—with colorful, themed series. Measuring just 2 1/16 × 1 1/2 inches, this pocket-sized gem exemplifies ephemera designed for mass appeal, now preserved in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Jefferson R. Burdick Collection, a ...
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...