Card 10, Grapta Comma, from the Butterflies series (N183) issued by Wm. S. Kimball & Co.
Medium
Commercial color lithograph
Dimensions
Sheet: 2 11/16 × 1 1/2 in. (6.9 × 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
63.350.216.183.10
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the late 19th century, American businesses like Wm. S. & Co., a tobacco, distributed colorful trade cards as promotional giveaways to boost brand loyalty and collectibility. This petite chromolithograph, *Card 10, Grapta Comma* from the *Butterflies* series (N183), exemplifies that era's ephemera. Produced in 1888 by master lithographer Julius Bien and's company, it measures just 2 11/16 × 1 1/2 inches—perfect for albums or pockets. Housed in The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Jefferson R. Burdick Collection, it highlights the intersection of commerce, science, and art in Gilded Age advertisi...
About the Artist
Julius Bien|William S. Kimball & Company (American, Swiss|American) · 1814 |1826 –1896 |1909
American, born Switzerland, 1814/15–1896|American (born Germany), Naumberg 1826–1909 United States