Cherbourg, 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 *Cherbourg, from the Fancy Bathers series (N)*, a charming commercial color lithograph produced by William S. Kimball & Company in 1889. This print (just 2 11/16 × 1 1/2 inches) was designed as a collectible insert for cigarette packs part of a popular series featuring elegantly attired women at seaside resorts. Kimball, a Rochester-based tobacco firm, capitalized on the era's seaside leisure craze, evoking glamorous European spots like Cherbourg, France, through idealized female figures in fashionable bathing costumes. Chromolithography, the medium here, revolutionized mass printing by layering vibrant colors from stone plates, allowing affordable, eye-catching ephemera to reach everyday consumers. These "fancy bathers" cards blended artistry with commerce, reflecting Victorian fascination with beauty, travel, and emerging women's leisure activities—subtly playful yet proper for the time. Housed in The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Jefferson R. Burdick Collection, this piece highlights the cultural role of trade cards in popularizing chromolithographic techniques and preserving snapshots of Gilded Age escapism. A delightful glimpse into how tobacco companies turned promotion into pocket-sized art!

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...