German, from Types of Nationalities (N240) issued by Kinney Bros.

Art Historical Context

This small yet vivid commercial color lithograph from 1890 belongs to the “Types of Nationalities” (N240) series issued by the Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company as a promotional insert for cigarette packs. When folded, the card fits neatly into a pocket; unfolded, it reveals a full-length portrait of a German man, part of a larger set that illustrated people from various countries. Such cards were among the earliest forms of mass-produced color imagery available to ordinary consumers, blending advertising with informal education about the wider world. Printed through the relatively new technique of color lithography, the work captures the crisp lines and bright hues typical of late-nineteenth-century commercial printing. The series reflects the era’s fascination with national “types,” shaped by both emerging anthropology and popular curiosity about European cultures. Today, this example forms part of the Metropolitan Museum’s Jefferson R. Burdick Collection, preserving the everyday printed ephemera that once traveled in tobacco tins and now offers a window into Victorian visual 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...