Blue Bullfinch, from the Song Birds of the World series (N42) 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
63.350.202.42.9
Tags
Art Historical Context
Behold the delicate charm of *Blue Bullfinch*N42), a vibrant commercial color lithograph from the *Song Birds of the World series issued by Allen & Ginter Cigarettes in 1890. Produced by S. Harris & Sons this petite card—measuring just 2 7/8 x 3 1/4 inches—was designed as an enticing insert for cigarette packs, sparking a collecting frenzy among enthusiasts of the era. Allen & Ginter, pioneering tobacco marketers, used such series to blend promotion with popular interests in natural history, turning everyday purchases into treasures. Chromolithography, the medium here, revolutionized 19th-cen...
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...