Charles Cornwallis, from the Great Generals series (N15) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes Brands
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
63.350.201.15.6
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 19th-century ephemera with this petite commercial color lithograph, *Charles Cornwallis, from the Great Generals series (N15)*, produced in 1888 by Allen & Ginter in collaboration with George S. Harris & Sons. Tucked into packs of Allen & Ginter cigarettes, these tiny cards (just 2¾ x 1½ inches) were part of a popular marketing trend that turned tobacco products into collectibles, sparking a collecting craze among Americans. Featuring illustrious military leaders, the series celebrated historical heroes, with Cornwallis—a British general infamous for his role in ...
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...