Irish, Moss Gatherer, from Types of Nationalities (N240) issued by Kinney Bros.

Art Historical Context

Step into the vibrant world of19th-century American advertising with *Irish, Moss Gatherer*, a charming yet poignant commercial color lithograph from Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company's *Types of Nationalities* (N240), issued in 1890. This petite card, measuring just 11/16 × 1 7/16 inches folded and unfolding to 7/8 × 1 7/16 inches, was designed collectible ephemera into cigarette packs. It depicts a woman embodying Irish stereotype, gathering moss—a nod to traditional livelihoods in Ireland amid waves immigration to the U.S. Chromography, the medium here revolutionized mass printing by layering vibrant colors through multiple stone plates, making high-quality images affordable and appealing. Kinney Bros. used this technique to captivate collectors, blending artistry with commerce during the Gilded Age's tobacco boom. The series captured "national types" in picturesque, often caricatured scenes, reflecting cultural fascination—and biases—with ethnic diversity. Today, housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department as part of The Jefferson R. Burdick Collection, this card offers a window into ephemera's artistic merit. It reminds us how everyday objects preserved snapshots of history, inviting reflection on identity and representation. (198 words)

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...