Ladies and Gentlemen..., from the Magic Changing Cards series (N223) issued by Kinney Tobacco Company
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, N223.30
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the whimsical world of 19th-century advertising with *Ladies and Gentlemen... a vibrant card from the Magic Changing Cards series (N), issued by the Kinney Brothers Tobacco in 1889. This petite commercial color lithograph, measuring just 2¾ × 1½ inches, was designed as promotional ephemera tucked into cigarette packs, enticing collectors—often children—with its playful magic theme. The title evokes a magician's flourish, hinting at optical illusions or transforming images that "changed" when tilted or viewed from angles, blending entertainment with tobacco marketing. Chromolithograp...
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...