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

Art Historical Context

Step into the vibrant world of 19th-century advertising with *Japanese, from Types of Nationalities (240)*, a charming commercial color lithograph produced by the Kinney Brothers Company in 1890 This petite ephemera—measuring just 2 11/16 × 1 7/16 inches folded—was designed as a collectible insert for cigarette packs, part of a popular series showcasing stereotypical figures from around the globe. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's and Prints department, it comes from the renowned Jefferson R. Burdick Collection, a treasure trove of such everyday printed gems. Chromolithography, the medium here, revolutionized mass production by layering vibrant colors through multiple lithographic stones, allowing affordable, eye-catching imagery that boosted tobacco sales and sparked a collecting craze. Unfolded to 6 7/8 × 1 7/16 inches, this card captures a poised Japanese man, reflecting Western fascination with Japan during the Meiji era's global opening. It embodies the era's blend of commerce and cultural curiosity, where ephemera like this bridged art and daily life, offering glimpses of "exotic" nationalities to American smokers. Today, it reminds us how prints democratized visual storytelling, turning tobacco promotions into miniature cultural artifacts. A delightful snapshot of Gilded Age marketing ingenuity!

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...