O'Neil, Left Field, St. Louis, from the Gold Coin series (N284) for Gold Coin Chewing Tobacco
Medium
Commercial color lithograph reproducing drawing
Dimensions
Sheet: 3 1/16 x 1 3/4 in. (7.7 x 4.5 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
63.350.222.284.119
Tags
Art Historical Context
This 1887 color lithograph captures baseball player O’Neil of the St. Louis team in left field, one of many portraits issued in the Gold Coin series by D. Buchner & Co. of New York. Produced as a commercial insert for chewing-tobacco packages, the tiny sheet—just over three inches tall—features a crisp, hand-colored reproduction of a drawing that brought the latest stars of America’s growing national pastime into everyday homes. In the 1880s, tobacco companies pioneered the modern baseball card as a marketing tool, turning small lithographs into affordable collectibles long before the sport h...
About the Artist
D. Buchner & Co., New York · 1850–1900
D. Buchner & Co. was a New York-based tobacco manufacturer prominent in the American market during the 1880s, best known today for its Gold Coin Chewing Tobacco brand and the vivid trade cards the company inserted into its product packaging to drive consumer loyalty. The firm was one of numerous tobacco companies that, during the boom years of American commercial printing, recognized the marketing...