Bugler of Infantry, French Army, 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 *Bugler of Infantry, Army, 1886*, a tiny yet striking commercial color lithograph produced by the Kinney Brothers Company in 1888 Measuring just 2 3/4 × 1 1/2 inches, this ephemera piece from the Military Series (N224) a poised French infantryman sounding his trumpet, embodying the era's romanticized view of soldiers. Issued as premiums with Sweet Caporal Cigarettes these cards were collectibles designed to boost brand loyalty among smokers. Chromolithography, the medium here, revolutionized mass printing by layering vibrant colors through multiple stone plates, allowing affordable, eye-catching reproductions that mimicked fine art. Kinney's series tapped into late Victorian fascination with military prowess and European uniforms, blending patriotism with exotic allure amid global tensions like the Franco-Prussian War's aftermath. Today, housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department as part of The Jefferson R. Burdick Collection, this card highlights ephemera's cultural role—preserving everyday commerce as art. It reminds us how tobacco giants shaped popular imagery, turning a simple bugle call into a snapshot of imperial nostalgia.

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...