Sergeant of Engineers, United States Army, 1886, from the Military Series (N224) issued by Kinney Tobacco Company to promote Sweet Caporal Cigarettes 1888

This chromolithograph, "Sergeant of Engineers, United States Army, 1886" (1888) was created by the Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company as part of their "Military Series" issued with Sweet Caporal cigarettes. The image shows a uniformed U.S. Army soldier, a common subject in late 19th-century American commercial art, in a pose characteristic of trade cards, a popular form of advertising at the time. The image was part of a series of 50 cards depicting various ranks in the U.S. Army, and it exemplifies the use of illustration for commercial purposes during the late 19th-century.