Admiral, Denmark, from the Naval Flags series (N17) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes Brands
ca. 1888
Medium
Commercial color lithograph
Dimensions
Sheet: 2 3/4 x 1 1/2 in. (7 x 3.8 cm)
Classification
Prints|Ephemera
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Jefferson R. Burdick Collection, Gift of Jefferson R. Burdick
Accession Number
63.350.201.17.10
Tags
Art Historical Context
Welcome to the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints collection! Behold *Admiral, Denmark*, a tiny gem from Allen & Ginter's Naval Flags series (N17), produced around 1888. These commercial color lithographs were innovative cigarette cards tucked into packs of Allen & Ginter cigarettes, sparking a collecting craze among smokers and turning everyday tobacco into a portal for education on global naval heraldry. Crafted via chromolithography—a groundbreaking technique layering vibrant colors through multiple lithographic stones—this 2¾ x 1½-inch card captures the Danish admiral's flag...
About the Artist
Allen & Ginter
Allen & Ginter, the pioneering American tobacco firm based in Richmond, Virginia, emerged around 1880 from the partnership of John F. Allen and Lewis Ginter, evolving from Allen's earlier John F. Allen & Company. Allen retired in 1882, succeeded by John Pope, yet the brand endured under Ginter's leadership, employing over 1,100 workers—mostly women—for hand-rolled cigarettes by 1886. Ginter, a Dut...