Ice Bucket, from the Novelties series (N228, Type 3) issued by Kinney Bros. 1889

This small chromolithograph was printed by the Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company as one of their novelty trading cards. Chromolithography was a popular color printing technique in the late 19th century that allowed for mass production of colorful images. The image itself depicts a woman emerging from an ice bucket filled with champagne bottles, printed with great attention to detail. Look at the careful rendering of the ice cubes and the shading on the bottles, achieved through layering multiple colors. This was a laborious, skilled process. These cards were essentially advertisements, cheap to produce, and distributed widely. They represent the rise of consumer culture and the use of art for promotional purposes. The company relied on the labor of both the artists and the factory workers who mass-produced these images. So, consider the layers of making involved, from the artist who created the original design, to the many hands that brought it into circulation, and finally to you, looking at it today. This humble little artwork prompts us to think about the relationship between art, commerce, and everyday life.