Apteryx, from Birds of the Tropics series (N38) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes
Medium
Commercial color lithograph
Dimensions
Sheet: 2 7/8 x 3 1/4 in. (7.3 x 8.3 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
63.350.202.38.3
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 19th-century advertising with *Apteryx, from of the Tropics seriesN38) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes* (1889). This commercial color lithograph, just 2 7/8 x 3 1/4 inches, captures the enigmatic flightless Apteryx—better known today as the kiwi bird from New Zealand. Produced by pioneering tobacco company Allen & Ginter and printed by George S. Harris & Sons, it was one of many collectible inserts tucked into cigarette packs to entice smokers and spark a collecting frenzy among enthusiasts. Chromolithography, the era's breakthrough technique for affordable, vivid...
About the Artist
Allen & Ginter|George S. Harris & Sons
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...