Portrait, from the Women's Portraits series (N198) issued by Wm. S. Kimball & Co.

Art Historical Context

This charming *Portrait* from the Women's Portraits seriesN198), issued by. S. Kimball &. in 1889, captures the elegance of late Victorian-era femininity. Produced as a collectible insert for tobacco products, it exemplifies the popular trend of trade cards and cigarette cards that turned everyday advertising into coveted keepsakes. William S. Kimball & Company, a prominent American tobacco firm, commissioned these small-scale prints (just 3¼ × 2⅞ inches) to appeal to collectors, blending commerce with portraiture in a time when such ephemera adorned parlors and scrapbooks across households. Printed as a commercial color lithograph—likely by William Wellstood—this piece highlights the era's mastery of chromolithography, a technique that allowed vibrant, multi-hued reproductions at low cost for mass distribution. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Jefferson R. Burdick Collection, it represents a pivotal moment in graphic design history, where fine art techniques met consumer culture. These cards not only promoted Kimball's cigars but also celebrated idealized images of women, reflecting societal fascinations with beauty and portraiture. Today, this tiny gem offers a window into 19th-century advertising ingenuity, reminding us how everyday objects preserved cultural snapshots for posterity.

About the Artist

William S. Kimball & Company|William Wellstood · 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...