Joseph Morsler, Champion Pool Player, from the Champions of Games and Sports series (N184, Type 2) issued by W.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
63.350.216.184.68
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 19th-century American sports culture with *Joseph Morsler, Champion Player*, a gem from the *Champions Games and Sports* seriesN184, Type 2), issued by W.S. Kimball & Co. in 1887. This petite commercial color lithograph, measuring just 2 11/16 × 1 1/2 inches, captures the poised intensity of Morsler, a celebrated billiards athlete, mid-action at the table. Produced as collectible ephemera, reflects the era's booming fascination with leisure sports and emerging athletic heroes, distributed likely as promotional inserts to entice collectors. The medium—a vivid col...
About the Artist
W.S. Kimball & Co.
William S. Kimball & Co. was a tobacco manufacturer based in Rochester, New York, whose influence extended well beyond the cigarette trade into the realm of popular visual culture. Founded in 1846 by William S. Kimball and James C. Hart, the company grew into one of the largest tobacco concerns in the United States, erecting a landmark factory along the Erie Canal on Court Street in 1880. The buil...