Czar of Russia, from World's Sovereigns series (N34) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes
1889
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
63.350.202.34.38
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 19th-century ephemera with *Czar of Russia* from Allen & Ginter's *'s Sovereigns* series (N34), a diminutive commercial color lithograph in 1889. Issued as inserts in cigarette packs, these pocket-sized cards (just 2¾ x 1½ inches) captured the imagination of collectors worldwide, featuring regal portraits of global leaders adorned with intricate coats of arms. Allen & Ginter, pioneering tobacco magnates, revolutionized marketing by embedding these colorful keepsakes, turning smokers into avid hobbyists and laying the groundwork for modern trading cards. Crafted ...
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...