Madrilena, from National Dances (N225, Type 1) issued by Kinney Bros.
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, N225.47
Tags
Art Historical Context
**Madrilena, from National Dances (N225, Type 1)** Issued by the Kinney Brothers Company in 1889, this petite commercial color lithograph captures vibrant spirit of a "Madrilenaa dancer evoking the fiery traditions of Madrid, Spain. Part of the popular "National Dances" series (ed as N225, Type 1), it was designed as an insert for cigarette packs, a clever marketing tactic by late-19th-century tobacco firms to entice collectors. At just 2¾ × 1½ inches, these ephemera cards turned everyday smoking into a gateway for cultural exploration, blending commerce with artistry. Chromolithography, th...
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...