Blue Winged Teal, from the Game Birds series (N40) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes
1888–90
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
63.350.202.40.10
Tags
Art Historical Context
Behold the vibrant *Blue Winged Teal from Allen & Ginter's *Game Birds* series (40), a charming chromolithograph produced between 1888 and 1890. This petite card, measuring just 2 7/8 x 3 1/4 inches, captures elegant duck in mid-flight against a subtle backdrop, showcasing the iridescent blue wings that give the species its name. Issued by the pioneering American tobacco company Allen & Ginter, these were tucked into cigarette packs as collect incentives, sparking a craze for trading cards among enthusiasts in the late Victorian era. Chromolithography, the era's breakthrough in color printing...
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...