Maharana of Oudeypoor, India, from the Savage and Semi-Barbarous Chiefs and Rulers series (N189) issued by Wm. S. Kimball & Co.

Art Historical Context

Step into the vivid world of 19th-century ephemera with *Maharana of Oudeypoor, India*, a petite commercial color lithograph from1888. Produced by William S. Kimball & Company—a prominent American tobacco firm—this tiny print (just 2 11/16 × 1 1/2 inches) belongs to the "Savage and Semi-Barbarous Chiefs and Rulers" series (N189). Likely distributed as collectible inserts in cigarette packs, it captures the regal portrait of the Maharana, ruler of Udaipur (then spelled Oudeypoor) in Rajasthan, India. Such cards reflected the era's fascination with exotic global leaders amid British colonial expansion and rising American consumerism. Chromolithography, the medium here, revolutionized mass printing by layering vibrant colors from multiple stones, enabling affordable, eye-catching reproductions. This technique democratized imagery, blending portraiture with promotional flair to entice collectors. The series' title reveals Western stereotypes of the "Other," exoticizing non-European nobility during a time of imperial curiosity—yet it preserves a rare, stylized glimpse of South Asian royalty for modern viewers. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Jefferson R. Burdick Collection, this ephemera highlights how everyday objects bridged art, commerce, and cross-cultural exchange, inviting us to ponder the blend of admiration and bias in Gilded Age visuals.

About the Artist

William S. Kimball & Company · 1850–1950

**William S. Kimball & Company**, a pioneering American tobacco manufacturer, was established in 1846 in Rochester, New York, by William S. Kimball and James C. Hart. The firm quickly grew into one of the city's largest employers, particularly of women, producing popular brands like Peerless chewing tobacco, Rigatta and Fireside smoking tobacco, and Vanity Fair cigarettes. Under Kimball's leadersh...