A Happy New Year, from the New Years 1890 series (N227) issued by Kinney Bros.

Art Historical Context

Step into the vibrant world of late 19th-century American ephemera with *A Happy New Year*, a charming commercial color lithograph from Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company's New Years 1890 series (N227). Issued around 1889–90, this tiny card—measuring just 1 1/2 × 2 3/4 inches—was tucked into cigarette packs as a promotional insert, delighting collectors with its festive greeting and elegant depiction of a woman, evoking the joy of the holiday season. Chromolithography, the innovative color printing technique used here, allowed for mass production of vivid, multi-hued images at low cost, revolutionizing commercial art. Kinney Bros., makers of popular brands like Sweet Caporal, capitalized on this to build brand loyalty, turning everyday tobacco products into gateways for hobbyist collecting. These cards captured cultural snapshots of Victorian-era optimism, with women often portrayed as symbols of grace and festivity. Preserved in The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Jefferson R. Burdick Collection—a treasure trove of over 30,000 American cards—this piece highlights the intersection of commerce, art, and popular culture, reminding us how small prints fostered widespread collecting fever long before modern trading cards.

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...