Tarantella, 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, N225.87
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the lively world of 19th-century advertising with *Tarantella, from Dances (N225, Type 1)*, a charming commercial color lithograph issued by the Kinney Brothers Company in 1889 This petite print, measuring just 2¾ × 1½ inches, captures the exuberant energy of the Italianantella—a folk dance known for its rapid spins and tambourine rhythms, often performed by women in vibrant costumes. As part of a popular series promoting Kinney's tobacco products, it served as a collectible insert in cigarette packs, fueling the era's craze for trading cards among enthusiasts. Chromolithography, th...
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...