Nox, Goddess of the Night, from the Goddesses of the Greeks and Romans series (N188) issued by Wm. S. Kimball & Co.

Art Historical Context

In the late 19th century, tobacco companies like Wm.. Kimball & Co. collectors with vibrant insert cards tucked into cigarette packs, blending education and promotion. This petite *Nox, Goddess of the* (1889) hails from their "Goddesses of the Greeks Romans" series (N), a set of 50 cards celebrating classical mythology. Nox, the Roman personification of night—equivalent to the Greek Nyx—appears here as a ethereal figure, evoking mystery and the cosmos in vivid commercial color lithography by the Ketterlinus Lithography Company. Measuring just 1 1/2 × 2 3/4 inches, this ephemera exemplifies the era's mass-produced artistry, where chromolithography allowed affordable, eye-catching hues on cheap paper. These cards fueled a collecting craze, introducing everyday Americans to ancient lore while boosting brand loyalty. Today, preserved in The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Jefferson R. Burdick Collection, it highlights how popular culture democratized classical themes, bridging antiquity and Gilded Age commerce. (178 words)

About the Artist

William S. Kimball & Company|Ketterlinus Lithography 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...