Suabian Waltz, from National Dances (N225, Type 1) 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, N225.81
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the lively world of 19th advertising with *Suabian Waltz*, charming chromolithograph from the Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company's "National Dances" series (N225, Type 1), issued in 1889. This petite card, measuring just 2¾ × 1½ inches, captures the graceful whirl of a traditional Swabian waltz—a folk dance from Germany's Swabia region—featuring elegantly attired women in mid-twirl. Tobacco companies like Kinney Bros. popularized such collectible cards to entice smokers, blending cultural motifs with commercial appeal during America's Gilded Age. Printed via commercial color lithograph...
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...