Chinese, from World's Smokers series (N33) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes
1888
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
63.350.202.33.36
Tags
Art Historical Context
This petite chromolithograph, titled *Chinese* from Allen & Ginter's *'s Smokers* seriesN33), captures a moment of global curiosity in 1888. Produced by the pioneering American tobacco company Allen & Ginter, it one of many collectible cards inserted into cigarette to entice smokers and foster a burgeoning hobby of trading and album-filling. Depicting a Chinese man engaged in smoking—a nod to exotic pipe traditions—this card reflects the era's orientalist fascination, blending cultural stereotypes with commercial allure amid America's Gilded Age tobacco boom. Crafted as a commercial color lit...
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...