War Dance, 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, N225.94
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 19th-century advertising with *War Dance*, a charming chromolithograph from the *National Dances* series (N225, Type 1), issued by the Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company in 9. This petite print, measuring just ¾ × 1½ inches, captures the dynamic energy of male dancers in traditional attire, evoking rituals of strength and cultural heritage. As part of a popular tobacco trade card set, it was distributed to promote Kinney's cigarette brands, blending commercial savvy with artistic flair to entice collectors. Chromolithography, the medium here, revolutionized mass pr...
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...