Fatigue Cap, Infantry, Russia, from the Military Uniforms series (T182) issued by Abdul Cigarettes
1881
Medium
Commercial color lithograph
Dimensions
Sheet: 3 3/16 × 1 3/4 in. (8.1 × 4.4 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
63.350.246.182.20
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the world of 19th-century ephemera with *Fatigue Cap, Infantry, Russia*, a vibrant commercial color lithograph from the Military Uniforms series (T182), issued by Abdul Cigarettes in 1881. This petite card, measuring just 3 3/16 × 1 3/4 inches, captures the distinctive headwear of Russian infantry in meticulous detail—its practical design for everyday soldier duties evoking the disciplined aesthetics of imperial Russian forces during a time of expanding European military rivalries. Produced as a collectible insert in cigarette packs, these cards were a clever marketing ploy by tobac...
About the Artist
Abdul Cigarettes · 1881–1881
Abdul Cigarettes, an enigmatic American entity active solely in 1881, stands as a fascinating footnote in the history of commercial art, best known for producing vibrant chromolithograph trade cards inserted into cigarette packages as promotional inserts. Little is documented about its origins or personnel, suggesting it operated as a short-lived publishing venture rather than the work of a singul...