Deer Ham, Ioway, from the American Indian Chiefs series (N36) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes
1888
Medium
Commercial color lithograph
Dimensions
Sheet: 2 7/8 x 3 1/4 in. (7.3 x 8.3 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
63.350.202.36.40
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 19th-century advertising with *Deer Ham, Ioway*, a colorful chromolithograph from Allen & Ginter's *American Indian Chiefs* seriesN36), issued in 1888. This petite card, measuring just 2 7/8 x 3 1/4 inches, captures the Ioway leader in traditional regalia, his stern gaze and feathered headdress rendered with striking detail. Produced as a promotional insert for Allen & Ginter cigarette packs, it exemplifies the era's "trade card" craze, where tobacco companies distributed collectible images to boost sales and captivate audiences. Chromolithography, the medium he...
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...