Black Eye, Blackfeet Sioux, from the American Indian Chiefs series (N36) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes
1888
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
63.350.202.36.16
Tags
Art Historical Context
Behold the striking portrait *Black Eye, Blackfeet* from Allen & Ginter's *American Indian Chiefs* seriesN36), a vibrant commercial color lithograph produced in 1888. This petite card, measuring just 2 7/8 x 3 1/4 inches, was tucked into cigarette packs as a promotional insert, capitalizing on the era's fascination with the American. Allen & Ginter, pioneering tobacco marketers, issued these cards to entice collectors, blending commerce with cultural imagery during a time of rapid industrialization and romanticized Native American narratives. Crafted via chromolithography—a cutting-edge techn...
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...