Portrait of woman, from the Novelties series (N228, Type 2) 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, N228.46
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 19th-century American advertising with this charming *Portrait of Woman* from Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company's Novelties series (N228, Type 2), in 1889. by the New York-based tobacco firm, this petite, round print—measuring just 1 9/16 inches across—was likely tucked into cigarette packages or affixed to tobacco products as a collectible incentive. During the Gilded Age, companies like Kinney Bros. fueled a craze for trading cards, blending portraiture with promotion to captivate smokers and enthusiasts alike. Crafted as a commercial color lithograph, the piece...
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...