Annam, from the Dancing Girls of the World series (N185) issued by Wm. S. Kimball & Co.
Medium
Commercial color lithograph
Dimensions
Sheet: 2 11/16 × 1 1/2 in. (6.8 × 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
63.350.216.185.5
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of late 19th-century advertising with *Annam, from the Dancing Girls of the World (N185)*, a diminutive commercial color lithograph by William S. Kimball & Company in 1889. Measuring just 2 11/16 × 1 1/2 inches, this tiny print captures an idealized dancer from Annam (modern-day central Vietnam), part of a popular series featuring women performers from around the globe. Issued as collectible inserts in Kimball's tobacco products, these ephemera cards blended commerce with escapism, enticing smokers with exotic imagery during an era of expanding global trade and colonial curiosity. Chromolithography, the medium here, revolutionized mass printing by layering vibrant colors from multiple lithographic stones, creating affordable, eye-catching art for everyday consumers. Kimball's series exemplified this technique's prowess, turning disposable ads into coveted collectibles that romanticized "Oriental" dance traditions amid Western Orientalism—a cultural lens that exoticized non-European women. Though not fine art, these prints hold artistic significance as snapshots of commercial design's golden age, showcasing bold patterns, flowing garments, and graceful poses that evoke movement in a static form. Today, housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Jefferson R. Burdick Collection, *Annam* reminds us how everyday objects preserved cultural fantasies. Visit to marvel at its jewel-like detail—proof that even the smallest ephemera can dance across history.
About the Artist
William S. Kimball & Company · 1850–1950
**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...