Jem Smith, Heavy Weight Pugilist of England, from the Champions of Games and Sports series (N184, Type 1) issued by W.S. Kimball & Co.

W.S. Kimball & Co.

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Trade cards from the set "Champions of Games and Sports" (N184), issued in 1887 by W.S. Kimball & Company. There are two variations of cards in the series. Type 1 displays the W.S. Kimball brand on the card recto and verso. Type 2 only displays the Kimball brand on the card verso. This card is Type 1.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Department’s vast collection of works on paper comprises approximately 21,000 drawings, 1.2 million prints, and 12,000 illustrated books created in Europe and the Americas from about 1400 to the present day. Since its foundation in 1916, the Department has been committed to collecting a wide range of works on paper, which includes both pieces that are incredibly rare and lauded for their aesthetic appeal, as well as material that is more popular, functional, and ephemeral. The broad scope of the department’s collecting encourages questions of connoisseurship as well as those pertaining to function and context, and demonstrates the vital role that prints, drawings, and illustrated books have played throughout history.

Metropolitan Museum of Art