Miss Lee, from the Actresses series (N203) issued by Wm. S. Kimball & Co.

Art Historical Context

Step into the vibrant world of 19th-century advertising with *Miss Lee, from the Actresses series (N203, a petite commercial color lithograph produced William S. Kimball & in 1889. Issued as part of a popular series by the tobacco firm, this tiny portrait (just 2 5/8 × 1 3/8 inches) captures the allure of a celebrated actress, embodying the era's fascination with theater stars. Kimball's cards were tucked into cigarette packs, sparking a collecting frenzy among enthusiasts who traded and albumed these ephemera like treasures. Chromolithography, the medium here, revolutionized mass printing by layering vibrant colors from stone plates, making high-quality images affordable and accessible. Classified as both ephemera and a photograph-based print, it likely reproduces a photographic portrait with artistic flair, highlighting the fusion of photography and lithography in commercial art. This technique democratized celebrity culture during the Gilded Age, when actresses like Miss Lee symbolized glamour and independence for women. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department, thanks to the Jefferson R. Burdick Collection, this card offers a glimpse into everyday visual culture. It reminds us how fleeting ads became lasting icons, preserving the faces of performers who captivated audiences onstage and off.

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...