Portrait of woman, from the Novelties series (N228, Type 1) issued by Kinney Bros.

Art Historical Context

Step into the vibrant world of 19th-century American advertising with this charming *Portrait of Woman* from Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company's Novelties series (N228, 1), produced in 1889. At just 1 9/16 inches in diameter, this petite, round commercial color lithograph designed as an insert for tobacco products, enticing collectors and boosting sales during the Gilded Age boom in cigarette culture. Kinney Bros., a prominent New York tobacco firm, issued these "novelties" as trading cards, tapping into the era's fascination with beautiful portraits of women to appeal to a male-dominated market. The artwork showcases the mastery of chromolithography, a technique that revolutionized mass printing by layering vibrant colors through multiple lithographic stones. This allowed for inexpensive, eye-catching reproductions that mimicked fine art portraits, blending commercial savvy with aesthetic appeal. As ephemera—short-lived printed matter meant for everyday use—these cards captured the cultural ideal of feminine beauty, reflecting Victorian-era tastes while serving as affordable collectibles. Today, preserved in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Jefferson R. Burdick Collection, this tiny gem highlights how everyday objects became art. Burdick's vast gift of over 30,000 cards underscores the historical value of such ephemera, offering a window into America's consumer-driven past. (198 words)

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...