Card 37, Catocala Nupta, 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
63.350.216.183.37
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the whimsical world 19th-century advertising with *Card 37, Catocala Nupta* from the Butterflies seriesN183), issued by. S. Kimball &. in 1888. petite commercial color lithograph, just 2 11/ × 1 1/2 inches, captures the delicate allure of the Catocala nupta moth—known for its striking underwing patterns—alongside motifs of women and butterflies. Produced by lithographer Julius Bien for the tobacco company, it exemplifies the era's trade cards, collectible inserts from cigarette packs designed to entice smokers with exquisite, nature-inspired imagery. Chromolithography, the medium he...
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