Artillery, Austria, 1886, from the Military Series (N224) issued by Kinney Tobacco Company to promote Sweet Caporal Cigarettes

Art Historical Context

Step into the vibrant world of 19th-century advertising with *Artillery, Austria, 1886*, a tiny gem from Kinney Tobacco Company's Military Series (N224). Issued in 1888 to promote Sweet Caporal Cigarettes, this commercial color lithograph was one of many collectible cards tucked into cigarette packs, enticing smokers—especially men—with heroic depictions of global armed forces. Capturing Austrian artillery troops from a decade earlier, complete with swords and military regalia, it reflects the era's fascination with imperial might and nationalism amid rising European tensions. Printed via chromolithography—a pioneering technique blending multiple lithographic stones for vivid, inexpensive color reproduction—this 2 3/4 × 1 1/2-inch ephemera exemplifies mass-market artistry. Kinney Brothers leveraged such cards to build brand loyalty, turning everyday purchases into a trading hobby that foreshadowed modern collectibles like baseball cards. Though humble in scale, its bold lines and patriotic imagery highlight commercial printing's role in shaping popular culture. Today, housed in The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department as part of The Jefferson R. Burdick Collection, this card preserves a slice of Gilded Age commerce and militarism, reminding us how tobacco giants fueled both addiction and armchair adventuring.

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...