Suadela, Goddess of Persuasion, from the Goddesses of the Greeks and Romans series (N188) issued by Wm. S. Kimball & Co.
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
63.350.216.188.37
Tags
Art Historical Context
This delicate 1889 commercial color lithograph depicts Suadela, the Roman goddess of persuasion, as part of the “Goddesses of the Greeks and Romans” series issued Wm. S. Kimball & Co. Produced by the Ketterlinus Lithography Company, the tiny card—measuring just 2¾ by 1½ inches—features a graceful profile portrait typical of the era’s popular trade cards. These small prints were originally packaged with cigarettes, transforming everyday tobacco purchases into opportunities for collecting and learning about classical mythology. In the late nineteenth century, American tobacco firms competed fie...
About the Artist
Ketterlinus Lithography Company|William S. Kimball & Company ( |American) · |1850 – |1950
|Philadelphia, Pennsylvania