E.A. Burch, Champion Baseball Fielder, from the Champions of Games and Sports series (N184, Type 2) issued by W.S. Kimball & Co.
Medium
Commercial color lithograph
Dimensions
Sheet: 2 11/16 × 1 1/2 in. (6.8 × 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
63.350.216.184.66
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 19th-century American sports culture with *E.A. Burch, Baseball Fielder*, a gem from the *Champions Games and Sports* seriesN184, Type 2), issued by W.S. Kimball &. in 1887. This petite commercial color lithograph, measuring just 2 11/16 × 1 1/2 inches, captures the athletic prowess of E.A. Burch, a baseball star, in a dynamic pose that embodies the era's growing obsession with the national pastime. Produced as promotional ephemera—likely tucked into cigarette packages—these cards turned everyday tobacco purchases into collectible treasures, blending advertising ...
About the Artist
W.S. Kimball & Co.
William S. Kimball & Co. was a tobacco manufacturer based in Rochester, New York, whose influence extended well beyond the cigarette trade into the realm of popular visual culture. Founded in 1846 by William S. Kimball and James C. Hart, the company grew into one of the largest tobacco concerns in the United States, erecting a landmark factory along the Erie Canal on Court Street in 1880. The buil...