Example of card verso from Leaders series (N222) issued by Kinney Bros.

Art Historical Context

Step back into 1888 with this charming example of the verso from the *Leaders* series (N222), a set of collectible trading cards issued by the Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company. These pocket-sized gems, measuring just 2¾ × 1⅜ inches, were tucked into cigarette packs to entice smokers and spark a collecting frenzy among enthusiasts. The *Leaders* series likely featured portraits of prominent figures—politicians, military heroes, or celebrities—making them a snapshot of Gilded Age admiration for power and prestige. Crafted as a commercial color lithograph, this card showcases the vibrant chromolithography technique that revolutionized mass printing in the late 19th century. Multiple lithographic stones layered vivid hues onto paper, producing affordable, eye-catching images that blurred the line between art and advertising. As ephemera, it exemplifies how tobacco companies like Kinney Bros. turned everyday products into cultural touchstones, fostering a booming trade card market. Housed in The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department, this piece comes from the legendary Jefferson R. Burdick Collection, a gift that cataloged thousands of such cards (N222 denotes its place in his system). Today, it reminds us of ephemera's enduring allure—tiny artifacts revealing the intersections of commerce, celebrity, and consumer culture.

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...