Phillips, 1st Base, Brooklyn, from the Gold Coin series (N284) for Gold Coin Chewing Tobacco

Art Historical Context

This 1887 color lithograph, titled *Phillips, 1st Base, Brooklyn*, to the Gold Coin series (N284) produced by D. Buchner & Co. of New York as a promotional insert for chewing tobacco. Measuring just over three by one-and-three-quarter inches, the card depicts a Brooklyn baseball player and reflects the growing popularity of America’s pastime during the late nineteenth century. Tobacco manufacturers often included such images in product packages to encourage repeat purchases, turning everyday consumer goods into early collectibles. Created through commercial color lithography—a technique that allowed vibrant, affordable mass production—the print reproduces a drawing in a format designed for portability and display. These cards helped popularize baseball stars among a wide audience while showcasing the artistic possibilities of industrial printing. Today, surviving examples like this one offer valuable glimpses into both sporting history and the evolution of graphic design. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Burdick Collection, the work bridges the worlds of ephemera and fine art, reminding visitors how commercial imagery can capture cultural moments that later gain historical resonance.

About the Artist

D. Buchner & Co., New York · 1850–1900

D. Buchner & Co. was a New York-based tobacco manufacturer prominent in the American market during the 1880s, best known today for its Gold Coin Chewing Tobacco brand and the vivid trade cards the company inserted into its product packaging to drive consumer loyalty. The firm was one of numerous tobacco companies that, during the boom years of American commercial printing, recognized the marketing...