Buffalo, from the Quadrupeds series (N21) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes
Medium
Commercial color lithograph
Dimensions
Sheet: 1 1/2 x 2 3/4 in. (3.8 x 7 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
63.350.201.21.9
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 19th advertising with *Buffalo, from therupeds series (N)*, a delightful commercial color lithograph produced in 1890 by Allen & Ginter in collaboration with lithographers Lindner, Eddy & Claus This tiny gem, measuring just 1 1/2 x 2 3/4 inches, was one of 50 cards inserted into cigarette packs to entice collectors and boost brand loyalty. Part of a popular series showcasing quadrupeds—four-legged animals—the buffalo card captures the majestic American bison, evoking the wild frontiers of the vanishing Old West. Chromolithography, the medium here, revolutionized...
About the Artist
Allen & Ginter|Lindner, Eddy & Claus
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...