Pulchinella 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
63.350.216.186.4
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of late 19th-century American advertising with *Pulchinella Dancer* from the *Dancing Women series (N186), by Wm. S. & Co. in 1889. This petite commercial color lithograph, measuring just 2 11/16 × 1 7/16 inches, captures a graceful female dancer embodying the mischievous Pulchinella character from commedia dell'arte traditions—a humpbacked, clownish figure reimagined here in feminine form amid swirling skirts and dynamic pose. Produced by a prominent Rochester, New York, tobacco company, it served as an enticing insert in cigarette packages, part of a popular trend...
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...