Corinne, from the Ballet Queens series (N182) issued by Wm. S. Kimball & Co.
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
63.350.216.182.14
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the dazzling world of 19th-century popular culture with *Corinne, from the Queens series (N182, a vibrant commercial color lithograph produced Wm. S. Kimball Co. in 1889. This petite card, measuring just 2¾ × 1½ inches, captures the grace of its titular ballerina, likely a celebrated performer of the era, poised in elegant attire amid the Ballet Queens series. Issued as promotional ephemera by the American tobacco company, it exemplifies the era's trade cards tucked into cigarette packs to entice collectors and boost sales. Chromolithography, the medium here, was a revolutionary pri...
About the Artist
William S. Kimball & Company
**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...