Colonel Richard March Hoe, printer's sample for the World's Inventors souvenir album (A25) 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
63.350.202.25.23
Tags
Art Historical Context
This petite chromolithograph, titled *Colonel Richard March Hoe,'s sample for the World'sors souvenir album (A)*, captures the profile of the innovative American inventor in a striking silhouette against a vibrant background. Produced by the pioneering tobacco firm Allen & G in 1888, it served as a printer's proof for their collectible trading card series, which celebrated notable inventors and was distributed inside cigarette packs to entice collectors and boost sales. Richard March Hoe revolutionized printing with his improvements to the rotary press in the mid-19th century, enabling faster...
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...