Foot Lancer, France, 16th Century, from the Military Series (N224) issued by Kinney Tobacco Company to promote Sweet Caporal Cigarettes
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
Burdick 218, N224.386
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the world of 19th-century with *Foot Lancer, France, 16th*, a vibrant commercial color lithograph from the Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company's Series (N224). in 1888 to promote their popular Sweet Caporal Cig, this tiny card—measuring just 2 3/4 × 1 1/2 inches—was likely tucked into cigarette packs as a collectible incentive. These ephemera cards captured the public's fascination with military history, romanticizing soldiers from bygone eras to boost brand loyalty amid fierce tobacco competition. The artwork depicts a profile view of a 16th-century French foot lancer, armed with a dag...
About the Artist
Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company · 1869–2011
**Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company (1869–2011)** Founded around 1869 by Francis Sherwood Kinney in New York City, the Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company quickly rose to prominence in the burgeoning American cigarette industry. Francis, a pioneering tobacco manufacturer, experimented with hand-rolled cigarettes using blends of Turkish and Virginia tobacco, scaling to mass production by employing Europ...