Monfredo, from National Dances (N225, Type 1) issued by Kinney Bros.

Art Historical Context

This charming small-scale print, titled *Monfredo*, belongs to the “National Dances” series issued by the Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company in 1889. Measuring just 2 ¾ by 1 ½ inches, it was originally distributed as a collectible insert in cigarette packages, part of a widespread marketing practice that turned everyday tobacco purchases into opportunities for visual collecting and light cultural education. Produced as a commercial color lithograph, the card exemplifies how advances in printing technology allowed vibrant images to reach a broad public at minimal cost. The Kinney Brothers, like many manufacturers of the era, used such ephemera to promote brand loyalty while showcasing scenes of women performing dances from around the world, reflecting late-nineteenth-century fascination with international customs and the growing popularity of theatrical dance. Today preserved in the Metropolitan Museum’s Jefferson R. Burdick Collection, *Monfredo* offers a delightful glimpse into the intersection of advertising, popular entertainment, and printmaking. Though modest in size, these cards helped democratize art, bringing colorful imagery into countless households and preserving fleeting moments of cultural performance for modern viewers.

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...