Plate, from the Novelties series (N228, Type 3) issued by Kinney Bros.
Medium
Commercial color lithograph
Dimensions
Sheet (Round): 1 7/16 × 1 7/16 in. (3.7 × 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
Burdick 218, N228.175
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of late 19-century American advertising with this petite *Plate* from Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company's Novelties series (N, Type 3), in 1889. just 1 7/16 inches in diameter, this round commercial color lithograph was likely a collectible insert tucked into cigarette packs, part of a popular trend where tobacco companies lured buyers—often young collectors—with themed cards. Produced by the Kinney Brothers a prominent New York firm, it reflects the era's booming chromolithography industry, which enabled mass production of eye-catching, multicolored images on a budge...
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...