Newport, from the Fancy Bathers series (N187) issued by Wm. S. Kimball & Co.
Medium
Commercial color lithograph
Dimensions
Sheet: 2 11/16 × 1 1/2 in. (6.9 × 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
63.350.216.187.10
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of late 19th-century American advertising with *Newport, from the Fancy Bathers seriesN187)*, a chromolithograph produced by William S. Kimball Company in 1889. This tiny gem, measuring just 2 11/16 × 1 1/2 inches, captures elegant profiles of women, evoking the fashionable seaside resort of Newport, Rhode Island—a for Gilded Age elites. Issued as part of a popular cigarette card series, it reflects the era's booming trade card culture, where tobacco companies like Kimball distributed collectible inserts to entice smokers and spark collecting frenzies among enthusia...
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...