Ladies and Gentlemen..., from the Magic Changing Cards series (N223) issued by Kinney Tobacco Company

Art Historical Context

Step into the whimsical world of 19th-century advertising with *Ladies and Gentlemen... a vibrant card from the Magic Changing Cards series (N), issued by the Kinney Brothers Tobacco in 1889. This petite commercial color lithograph, measuring just 2¾ × 1½ inches, was designed as promotional ephemera tucked into cigarette packs, enticing collectors—often children—with its playful magic theme. The title evokes a magician's flourish, hinting at optical illusions or transforming images that "changed" when tilted or viewed from angles, blending entertainment with tobacco marketing. Chromolithography, the medium here, revolutionized mass-produced color printing in the Gilded Age, allowing vivid hues and intricate details on cheap paper. Kinney's series capitalized on the era's fascination with magic and spectacle, turning everyday smokes into collectible treasures amid growing competition in the tobacco trade. Today, this card graces the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department, part of the legendary Jefferson R. Burdick Collection—a gift that preserves over 30,000 such ephemera. It offers a window into Victorian consumer culture, where art met commerce in surprising, sleight-of-hand ways. (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...