Ganges, from the Dancing Girls of the World series (N185) 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
63.350.216.185.21
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 19th-century advertising with *Ganges, from the Girls of the World seriesN185)*, a charming commercial color lithograph produced by William S. Kimball & Company in 1889. This tiny gem, measuring just 2 11/16 × 1 1/2 inches, was likely one of a collectible series of trade cards inserted into cigarette packs. Kimball, a prominent American tobacco firm, used these eye-catching prints to entice collectors and promote their products, capturing the era's fascination with global cultures through exotic depictions of female dancers. Chromolithography, the innovative col...
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...