Bar Harbor, from the Fancy Bathers series (N187) issued by Wm. S. Kimball & Co.

Art Historical Context

Step into the vibrant world of late 19th-century advertising with *Bar Harbor, from the Bathers series (N187)*, a delightful commercial color lithograph produced by William S. Kimball & Company in 1889. This tiny gem, measuring just 2 11/16 × 1 1/2 inches, captures the leisurely charm of women enjoying a seaside escape at Bar Harbor, a fashionable resort destination in Maine popular among America's elite. Issued as part of a collectible series tucked into cigarette packs, it reflects the era's blend of leisure, fashion, and commercial savvy. Chromolithography, the medium here, was a groundbreaking technique that allowed for vivid, mass-produced color prints mimicking fine art at affordable prices. Kimball & Co., a prominent tobacco firm, used these ephemera to entice collectors and boost brand loyalty, turning everyday smokes into portals to glamorous vignettes of "fancy bathers" in stylish swimsuits. The artwork's classification as prints and ephemera underscores its role in everyday culture rather than high art. Today, this piece from The Jefferson R. Burdick Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art offers a window into Victorian-era gender ideals and resort life. Its petite scale belies its cultural punch— a snapshot of how commerce and leisure intertwined in Gilded Age America.

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...