Woman wearing feathered hat, from the Novelties series (N228, Type 2) issued by Kinney Bros.

Art Historical Context

This charming chromolithograph, *Woman Wearing Feathered Hat*, is a tiny gem from the Kinney Brothers Company's "Novelties" series (N228, 2), produced in 1889. just 1 9/16 inches in diameter, it exemplifies the ephemeral trading cards tucked into cigarette packages during America's Gilded Age. Issued by the New York-based tobacco firm, these collectibles were marketing savvy, enticing smokers—especially young men—with vibrant, novelty images to build brand loyalty and spark collecting frenzies. Printed via commercial color lithography, a cutting-edge technique of the era that layered vibrant hues through multiple stone plates, the card captures a stylish woman in an elaborate feathered hat, evoking late Victorian fashion trends. Feathers were a status symbol, symbolizing elegance amid rapid urbanization and consumer culture. As ephemera, it offers a snapshot of everyday visual delight, preserved today in The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Jefferson R. Burdick Collection, a treasure trove of over 30,000 such cards donated in 1948. Though modest in scale, this piece highlights how commerce fueled popular art, blending advertising with aesthetic appeal and preserving glimpses of 19th-century femininity for modern eyes.

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...