Montgomery Greys, Alabama Militia, from the Military Series (N224) issued by Kinney Tobacco Company to promote Sweet Caporal Cigarettes
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, N224.75
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 19th-century American advertising with *Montgomery Greys, Alabama Milit*, a gem from the Military Series (N224) by the Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company in 8. This petite commercial color lithograph, measuring just 2 3/4 × 1 1/2 inches, was tucked into packages of Sweet Caporal Cig to entice collectors and boost sales. Featuring stern-faced militiamen with swords at the ready, it captures the era's fascination with martial valor, evoking pride in local units like Alabama's historic Montgomery Greys. Lithography, a revolutionary printing technique, allowed for vivi...
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...