U.S. Frigate Chicago, from the Naval Vessels of the World series (N226) issued by Kinney Bros.
Medium
Commercial color lithograph
Dimensions
Sheet: 1 1/2 × 2 3/4 in. (3.8 × 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
Burdick 218, N226.4
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the bustling world of late 19th-century America with *U.S. Frigate*, a vibrant chromolithograph from the *Naval Vessels of the* series (N226), issued by the Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company in 9. This tiny card, measuring just 1 1/2 × 2 3/4 inches, captures the majestic steam-powered frigate *Chicago*—one of the U.S. Navy's new "ABCD" ships—sailing proudly amid ocean waves. Produced as promotional inserts in cigarette packs, these ephemera fueled a collecting craze, blending marketing savvy with national pride during an era of naval expansion and imperial ambitions. Chromolithography...
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...