Hat, from the Novelties series (N228, Type 4) issued by Kinney Bros.
Medium
Commercial color lithograph
Dimensions
Sheet: 1 1/16 in. × 3 in. (2.7 × 7.6 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, N228.143
Tags
Art Historical Context
This charming miniature print, titled *Hat*, comes from the Novelties series (N228, Type 4) issued by the Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company in 1889. Produced as a commercial color lithograph, it measures just over an inch tall—small enough to have been tucked inside a cigarette package as a collectible novelty. Such ephemera were popular marketing tools in the late nineteenth century, turning everyday tobacco purchases into opportunities for gathering colorful, themed sets. The Kinney Brothers, known for their innovative advertising, used vibrant lithography to depict everyday objects like hats...
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...