Assagai, from the Arms of All Nations series (N3) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes Brands
1887
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
63.350.201.3.30
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 19th-century advertising with *Assagai, from Arms of All Nations seriesN3)*, a tiny yet captivating commercial color lithograph by the pioneering tobacco company Allen & Ginter in1887. This pocket-sized card (just 2 3/4 x 1 1/2 inches) was one of many inserted into cigarette packs, sparking a collecting craze among smokers and turning everyday purchases into treasures. Allen & Ginter, innovators in the trade card boom, used these inserts to promote their brands while showcasing global curiosities, blending commerce with armchair education on world cultures. The ...
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...