Black Hawk, Dakota Sioux, from the American Indian Chiefs series (N2) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes Brands
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
63.350.201.2.11
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 19th-century advertising with this petite commercial color lithograph, *Black Hawk, Dakota Sioux*, from Allen & Ginter's *American Indian Chiefs* seriesN2). Produced in 1888, this tiny card—measuring just 2 x 1½ inches—was tucked into cigarette packs as clever marketing ploy. Tobacco companies like Allen & Ginter these collectible inserts, turning everyday smokes into portals for education and fascination, especially about Native American leaders during a time of rapid westward expansion and cultural clashes. Chromolithography, the medium here, was a breakthroug...
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...