D. Buchner & Co.
D. Buchner & Co. was a printing or publishing firm active in 1887, whose historical record is primarily documented through a surviving body of commercial prints. Fifteen D. Buchner & Co. prints are represented in major museum collections, establishing the firm's role in late 19th-century American ephemera.
The firm specialized in issuing collectible trading cards, notably the Gold Coin series (N284) produced for Gold Coin Chewing Tobacco. These small-scale lithographic prints feature period sports figures, providing documentation of early baseball and lacrosse players. Works from this series are held in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where they are preserved as significant artifacts of commercial advertising and popular culture.
The subject matter is standardized, focusing on individual athletes identified by name, position, and club affiliation, such as Robinson, 2nd Base, St. Louis and Ryan, Right Field, Chicago. Other examples from the series include the detailed portraits Rooks, Batter, Lacrosse and Seery (Hands At Right Shoulder), Left Field, Indianapolis. These D. Buchner & Co. prints, often now entering the public domain due to their age, demonstrate the technical standards of mass-produced collectible artwork of the era. Surviving examples are often sought after as high-quality prints for historical study.
