Pocket watch, from the Novelties series (N228, Type 3) issued by Kinney Bros.
Medium
Commercial color lithograph
Dimensions
Sheet (Round): 1 9/16 × 1 9/16 in. (4 × 4 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, N228.84
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 19th-century American advertising with this charming *Pocket Watch* from Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company's Novelties series (N, Type 3), in 1889. At just 1 9/16 inches in diameter, this petite, round commercial color lithograph was likely a collectible insert or trade card tucked into tobacco packages, enticing smokers with whimsical novelties. Issued by the innovative Kinney Bros., a prominent New York tobacco firm, it the era's booming trade card culture, where everyday objects like pocket watches became coveted keepsakes. Crafted via chromolithography—a revol...
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...