Saint Briac, from the Fancy Bathers series (N187) issued by Wm. S. Kimball & Co.
Medium
Commercial color lithograph
Dimensions
Sheet: 2 11/16 × 1 1/2 in. (6.9 × 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
63.350.216.187.33
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 19th advertising with *Saint Briac, from the Fancy Bathers series (187)*, a charming commercial color lithograph produced by William S. Kimball & Company in 1889. This print, measuring just 2 /16 × 1 1/2 inches, the allure of women in leisurely bathing scenes, evoking the fashionable seaside resorts of the era like Saint-Briac-sur-Mer in France. Issued as part of a collectible tobacco insert series, it reflects the booming trade card culture, where companies bundled these ephemera with cigarettes to entice collectors and boost brand loyalty. Chromolithography, t...
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...