Tetradrachm, Alexander I, 500 B.C., from the Ancient Coins series (N180) issued by Wm. S. Kimball & Co.
Medium
Commercial color lithograph
Dimensions
Sheet: 1 1/2 × 2 5/8 in. (3.8 × 6.7 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
63.350.216.180.34
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the captivating world of 19th ephemera with this petite commercial color lithograph,Tetradrachm, Alexander I, 500.C.*, from the Ancient Coins series (N180) produced by Wm. S. & Co. in 1888. Measuring just 1 1/2 × 2 5/8 inches, this vibrant print faithfully reproduces an ancient Greek silver tetradrachm coin struck around 500 B.C. during the reign of Alexander I, king of Macedon. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department as part of the Jefferson R. Burdick Collection, it exemplifies the era's trade cards—often tucked into cigarette packs to entice colle...
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...