Card 8, Limenitis Ursula, 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
63.350.216.183.8
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the whimsical world of 19th-century advertising with *Card 8, Limenitis Ursula* from the Butterflies seriesN183), produced by Wm. S. & Co. in 1888. This petite commercial color lithograph, just 2 11/16 × 1 1/2 inches, is a delightful example of ephemera from the golden age of tobacco trade cards. Issued by the Rochester-based cigar manufacturer, these cards were tucked into cigarette packages to entice collectors, blending natural history with Victorian fantasy. Here, the Limenitis Ursula butterfly—a real North American species—is reimagined alongside elegant women, evoking themes of...
About the Artist
William S. Kimball & Company|Julius Bien
**William S. Kimball & Company**, a pioneering American tobacco manufacturer, was established in 1846 in Rochester, New York, by William S. Kimball and James C. Hart. The firm quickly grew into one of the city's largest employers, particularly of women, producing popular brands like Peerless chewing tobacco, Rigatta and Fireside smoking tobacco, and Vanity Fair cigarettes. Under Kimball's leadersh...