Bow Gun, from the Arms of All Nations series (N3) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes Brands
1887
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
63.350.201.3.22
Tags
Art Historical Context
This charming 1887 color lithograph titled *Bow Gun* belongs to Allen & Ginter’s “Arms of All Nations” series (N3), a set of collectible cards inserted into cigarette packages. Measuring just 2¾ by 1½ inches, the print depicts a traditional weapon alongside a profiled male figure, highlighting the era’s fascination with global military technology and exotic arms. Produced through commercial lithography, these cards brought vibrant, affordable imagery to everyday consumers at a time when color printing was still novel. Allen & Ginter, a prominent American tobacco company, used such series to b...
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...