Delehanty, Washington, American League, from the White Border series (T206) for the American Tobacco Company
1909–11
Medium
Commercial lithograph
Dimensions
Sheet: 2 5/8 x 1 7/16 in. (6.7 x 3.7 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
63.350.246.206.176
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the early 20th-century world of America's favorite pastime with this charming lithograph from the legendary T206 White Border series produced by the American Tobacco between 1909 and 1911. Titled *Delehanty, Washington, American*, it features a portrait of baseball player Bob Deleanty of the Washington Senators. At just 2 5/8 x 1 7/16 inches, this pocket-sized print was designed as an insert in cigarette packs, blending sports hero worship with clever marketing. Lithography, the medium here, enabled vibrant, mass-produced color images that captured the era's booming commercial print...
About the Artist
American Tobacco Company
**American Tobacco Company (1890–1911)** Founded on January 31, 1890, in Durham, North Carolina, by James Buchanan Duke, the American Tobacco Company emerged from the consolidation of five major U.S. tobacco manufacturers: W. Duke & Sons, Allen & Ginter, Goodwin & Company, W.S. Kimball & Co., and Kinney Brothers. Under Duke's aggressive leadership, it rapidly achieved monopoly status, controlling...