Capitol of Wisconsin in Madison, from the General Government and State Capitol Buildings series (N14) 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
63.350.201.14.39
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the world of 19th-century with this petite *Capitol of Wisconsin in Madison a vibrant commercial color lithograph from1889. Produced by Gast Lithograph & Engr Company for Allen & G Cigarettes' "General Government and State Buildings" series (N), it captures the grandeur of Wisconsin's state capitol in Madison. These tiny cards—measuring just 1 1/2 x 2 3/4 inches—were tucked into cigarette packs as stiffeners and collectibles, blending marketing savvy with educational flair during the Gilded Age. Chromolithography, the era's cutting-edge technique, allowed for vivid, multi-layered co...
About the Artist
Allen & Ginter|The Gast Lithograph & Engraving Company
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...