California Partridge, from the Game Birds series (N13) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes Brands
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
63.350.201.13.12
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 19th-century American ephemera with *California Partridge* from Allen & Ginter's Game series (N13), a delightful 1889 commercial color lithograph. Produced by the pioneering tobacco company Allen & Ginter in collaboration with printers George S. Harris & Sons, this card (just 1 1/2 x 2 3/4 inches) was tucked into cigarette packs as a promotional insert, sparking a collecting craze among enthusiasts of all ages. Chromolithography, the medium here, revolutionized mass printing by layering vibrant colors through multiple lithographic stones, capturing the partridge...
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...