Honduras, from the International Cards series (N238), issued by Kinney Bros.

Art Historical Context

Step into the vibrant world of 19th-century advertising with *Honduras, from the International Cards series (N238)*, a diminutive commercial color lithograph produced by the Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company in 1888. Measuring just 3¼ × 2⅞ inches, this ephemera was designed as a collectible trading card, tucked into cigarette packs to entice smokers and spark a collecting craze. Part of a series celebrating global nations, it likely features a proud male figure alongside the Honduran flag, evoking national pride amid America's growing fascination with international imagery. Lithography, the medium here, revolutionized commercial printing by allowing vivid, multi-color reproductions at scale—perfect for mass-market tobacco promotions. Kinney Bros. capitalized on this technique to create eye-catching cards that doubled as affordable art, blending patriotism with product placement during a tobacco boom era. These cards weren't just gimmicks; they educated everyday Americans about distant lands, fostering cultural curiosity. Today, this gem resides in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department, thanks to the Jefferson R. Burdick Collection—a legendary archive of over 30,000 American cards gifted in 1948. A tiny window into Gilded Age commerce and global awareness, it reminds us how everyday objects carried artistic flair and historical weight.

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...