Swinging Rings Exercise, from the Pretty Athletes series (N196) issued by Wm. S. Kimball & Co.
Medium
Commercial color lithograph
Dimensions
Sheet: 3 3/4 × 2 1/2 in. (9.5 × 6.3 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
63.350.216.196.7
Tags
Art Historical Context
This charming color lithograph from 1889 belongs to the “Pretty Athletes” series (N196), a set of small trading cards issued by Wm. S. Kimball & Company, a leading tobacco manufacturer. At a time when women’s participation in sports was still considered unconventional, the card celebrates female strength and grace by depicting an athlete performing a rings exercise. Such images helped introduce the idea of physical fitness for women to a broad public through everyday objects tucked inside cigarette packs. Printed by the noted firm Julius Bien & Co., the card exemplifies the vibrant commercial...
About the Artist
William S. Kimball & Company|Julius Bien & Co.
**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...