Manning, Shortstop, Detroit, from the Gold Coin series (N284) for Gold Coin Chewing Tobacco
Medium
Commercial color lithograph reproducing drawing
Dimensions
Sheet: 3 1/16 x 1 3/4 in. (7.7 x 4.5 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
63.350.222.284.116
Tags
Art Historical Context
This charming small-scale print from 1887 captures the early days of American baseball through the lens of commercial advertising. Issued by D. Buchner & Co. of New York as part of its Gold Coin Chewing Tobacco series (N284), the card features Manning, shortstop for the Detroit team. At just over three inches tall, it was originally tucked inside packages of chewing tobacco to encourage repeat purchases, reflecting how the growing popularity of professional baseball intersected with the tobacco industry in the late nineteenth century. Produced as a commercial color lithograph that reproduces ...
About the Artist
D. Buchner & Co., New York · 1850–1900
D. Buchner & Co. was a New York-based tobacco manufacturer prominent in the American market during the 1880s, best known today for its Gold Coin Chewing Tobacco brand and the vivid trade cards the company inserted into its product packaging to drive consumer loyalty. The firm was one of numerous tobacco companies that, during the boom years of American commercial printing, recognized the marketing...