Fanny Gillette, from the Actresses series (N190) issued by Wm. S. Kimball & Co.
Medium
Commercial lithograph
Dimensions
Sheet: 2 1/2 × 1 5/16 in. (6.3 × 3.3 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
63.350.216.190.9
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of late 19-century American ephemera with *Fanny Gillette, from the Actresses series (N190)*, a charming commercial lithograph produced by. S. Kimball &. in 1889. This petite portrait (just 2½ × 1⅜ inches) captures the allure of Fanny Gillette, a popular actress of the era, as part of a collectible series issued by the tobacco company. Kimball's cards were tucked into cigarette packages to entice collectors, blending celebrity glamour with clever marketing during the Gilded Age. Chromolithography, the medium here, revolutionized commercial printing by enabling vivi...
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...