Flies Above, North American Chief, from the Savage and Semi-Barbarous Chiefs and Rulers series (N189) issued by Wm. 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
63.350.216.189.15
Tags
Art Historical Context
This vibrant chromolithograph, titled *Flies Above, North American Chief*, is a tiny gem from 1888, measuring just 2⅔ × 1½ inches. Produced by the William S. Kimball & Company—a prominent American tobacco firm—it belongs to the "Savage and Semi-Barbarous Chiefs and Rulers" series (N189), a set of collectible cards inserted into cigarette packs to entice buyers and spark trading among enthusiasts. Depicting the Native American leader Flies Above in portrait format, it captures a moment of exoticized curiosity in late 19th-century America. Chromolithography, the medium here, revolutionized comm...
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...