Effie, 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
63.350.216.182.19
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 19th advertising with *Effie, from the Ballet Queens series (N182)*, a charming commercial color lithograph produced by Wm. S. Kimball & Co. in1889. This petite card (just 2¾ × 1½ inches) was issued as a collectible insert with Kimball's tobacco products, part of a popular series celebrating glamorous ballerinas. During the Gilded Age, tobacco companies like Kimball fueled a collecting craze by pairing their cigarettes with beautifully illustrated cards featuring idealized women, tapping into the era's fascination with ballet stars and feminine grace. Chromolith...
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...