Portuguese Dancer, from the Dancing Women series (N186) issued by Wm. S. Kimball & Co.
Medium
Commercial color lithograph
Dimensions
Sheet: 2 11/16 × 1 7/16 in. (6.9 × 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
63.350.216.186.30
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 19th-century advertising with *Portuguese Dancer*, a chromolithograph from the *ancing Women* series (186), issued by Wm. S. Kimball &. in 1889. Produced by the Rochester-based tobacco company, this petite print (just 2 11/16 × 1 7/16 inches) was likely distributed as a trade card or with Kimball's cigar packs, enticing collectors with its depiction of a graceful dancer in traditional Portuguese attire. Part of The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Jefferson R. Burdick Collection, it exemplifies the ephemera that turned everyday commerce into pocket-sized art. Chromo...
About the Artist
William S. Kimball & Company
**William S. Kimball & Company**, a pioneering American tobacco manufacturer, was established in 1846 in Rochester, New York, by William S. Kimball and James C. Hart. The firm quickly grew into one of the city's largest employers, particularly of women, producing popular brands like Peerless chewing tobacco, Rigatta and Fireside smoking tobacco, and Vanity Fair cigarettes. Under Kimball's leadersh...