Miss Larkett, 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
63.350.216.203.180
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the glittering world of 19th-century theater with *Miss Larkett, from Actresses series (N)*, a charming commercial color lithograph produced by Wm. S. Kimball & Co. 1889. Issued by the American tobacco company, this petite card (just 2 5/8 × 1 3/8 inches) was part a popular series featuring portraits of celebrated actresses, distributed with cigarette packs to entice collectors and boost sales. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Jefferson R. Burdick Collection—a treasure trove of ephemera—this piece captures the era's obsession with stage stars as cultural icons. Chromolitho...
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...