Turkey, from the National Flags series (N195) issued by Wm. S. Kimball & Co.
Medium
Commercial color lithograph
Dimensions
Sheet: 4 1/4 × 2 9/16 in. (10.8 × 6.5 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
63.350.216.195.24
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 19th-century advertising with *Turkey, from the National Flags seriesN195)*, a petite commercial color lithograph produced William S. Kimball & Company in 1891. This 4¼ × 2⅜-inch card boldly displays the Ottoman Empire's flag—red with a white crescent moon and star—capturing national pride in a format designed for everyday handling. Issued as promotional ephemera, likely tucked into cigarette packs by the New York-based tobacco firm, it exemplifies how commerce intertwined with education and collecting. Chromolithography, the era's breakthrough printing techniqu...
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...