Black Frizzled Fowl, from the Prize and Game Chickens series (N20) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes
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
63.350.201.20.11
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 19th ephemera with *Black Frizzled Fowl a charming chromolithograph from Allen & Ginter's * and Game Chickens* (N20), issued 1891. These cards (just 2¾ x 1½ inches) were tucked into cigarette packs as promotional inserts, sparking a collecting craze among smokers and hobbyists alike. Allen & Ginter, pioneering tobacco magnates, capitalized on America's fascination with prize poultry—exemplars of selective breeding in an era of agricultural innovation and county fairs. Produced by The Gast Lithograph & Engraving Company, this commercial color lithograph exemplifi...
About the Artist
Allen & Ginter|The Gast Lithograph & Engraving Company
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...