Admiral, Russia, 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
63.350.201.17.37
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 19th-century advertising with *Admiral, Russia* from Allen & Ginter's Naval series (N17), a petite commercial color lithograph produced around 1888. These were tucked into cigarette packs as clever promotions, sparking a collecting craze among enthusiasts. This example showcases the Russian admiral's naval ensign, part of a series celebrating global maritime flags amid an era of imperial navies and seafaring rivalries—think wooden ships giving way to steel fleets during the late Victorian age. Crafted via chromolithography, a revolutionary printing technique tha...
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...