Miss Jarbeau, from the Actresses series (N203) issued by Wm. S. Kimball & Co.
Medium
Commercial color lithograph
Dimensions
Sheet: 2 5/8 × 1 3/8 in. (6.6 × 3.5 cm)
Classification
Photographs|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
63.350.216.203.115
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the late 19th century, tobacco companies like Wm.. Kimball & Co. collectors with vibrant trade cards inserted into cigarette packs. *Miss Jarbeau, from Actresses series (N)*, produced in 1889, this ephemera. This petite commercial color lithograph (just 2⅝ × 1⅜ inches) features a portrait of the actress Miss Jarbeau, one of many celebrated performers immortalized to promote Kimball's brands. Part of The Jefferson R. Burdick at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, it reflects the Gilded Age obsession with theater stars, turning everyday smokers into avid hobbyists. Chromolithography, the medium ...
About the Artist
William S. Kimball & Company
**William S. Kimball & Company**, a pioneering American tobacco manufacturer, was established in 1846 in Rochester, New York, by William S. Kimball and James C. Hart. The firm quickly grew into one of the city's largest employers, particularly of women, producing popular brands like Peerless chewing tobacco, Rigatta and Fireside smoking tobacco, and Vanity Fair cigarettes. Under Kimball's leadersh...