Muzette, from the Ballet Queens series (N182) issued by Wm. S. Kimball & Co.
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
63.350.216.182.40
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the glittering world of 19th-century ballet with *Muzette, from Ballet Queens series (N)*, a charming commercial color lithograph issued Wm. S. Kimball & Co. 1889. Produced a promotional trade card by the American tobacco company, this petite print (just 2 3/4 × 1 1/2 inches) the elegance of a ballerina named Muzette, embodying the era's fascination with dance stars. Part of a popular series (cataloged as N182 in the American Tobacco Card Catalog), these cards were tucked into cigarette packages to entice collectors, reflecting the Gilded Age boom in consumer marketing. Chromolithog...
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...