H.M.S. Colossus, Royal Navy, from the Naval Vessels of the World series (N226) issued by Kinney Bros.
Medium
Commercial color lithograph
Dimensions
Sheet: 1 1/2 × 2 3/4 in. (3.8 × 7 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, N226.14
Tags
Art Historical Context
In 1889, the Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company issued *Naval Vessels of the* series (N226), a set of colorful trading cards tucked into cigarette packs to entice collectors and boost sales. This petite chromolithograph depicts H.M.S. *Colossus*, a battleship of the British Royal Navy, showcasing the era's naval might amid global imperial rivalries and arms races. At just 1 1/2 × 2 3/4 inches, these ephemera cards captured the public's fascination with maritime power, turning everyday tobacco purchases into a gateway for education and hobby. The commercial color lithograph technique—chromolithog...
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...