Polish Mazurka, from National Dances (N225, Type 2) issued by Kinney Bros.
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
Burdick 218, N225.118
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the lively world of 19th advertising with *Polish Mazurka, National Dances (N, Type 2)*, a diminutive commercial color lithograph by the Kinney Brothers Company in 1889 Measuring just 2¾ × 1½ inches, vibrant print captures male dancers mid-performance in the traditional Polish mazurka—a folk dance for its rhythmic steps and spirited energy. Part of a popular series celebrating global dances, it served as an insert card tucked into cigarette packages, blending cultural showcase with clever marketing. Lithography, the medium here, revolutionized mass printing in the late 1800s, enabli...
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...