Moorish Dancer, from the Dancing Women series (N186) issued by Wm. S. Kimball & Co.
Medium
Commercial color lithograph
Dimensions
Sheet: 2 11/16 × 1 7/16 in. (6.9 × 3.7 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
63.350.216.186.22
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 19th-century advertising with *Moorish Dancer* from the *Dancing Women* series (N186), a charming commercial color lithograph produced by Wm. S. Kimball & Co. in 1889. This petite print, measuring just 2 11/16 × 1 7/16 inches, captures an exoticized figure in flowing attire, evoking the era's fascination with Orientalism—a popular artistic motif inspired by Middle Eastern and North African cultures. Issued as part of a collectible tobacco trade card series, it reflects how companies like Kimball, a Rochester-based cigarette manufacturer, used eye-catching imagery...
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...