Four of Spades, Canoe Race, from Harlequin Cards, 2nd Series (N220) issued by Kinney Bros.
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, N220.6
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 19th-century American ephemera with *Four of Spades,e Race*, from the *Harlequin Cards, 2 Series (N220)*, issued by the Kinney Tobacco Company in 188. This diminutive commercial color lithograph—measuring just 2¾ × 1½ inches—was one of many collectible cards tucked into cigarette packs as clever marketing ploys during the Gilded Age. companies like Kinney Bros produced these sets to entice smokers and foster a booming trade card culture, blending entertainment with commerce. The card's lively scene captures the thrill of a canoe race, with sleek boats slicing th...
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...