Eagle, from the Birds of America series (N4) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes Brands
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
63.350.201.4.44
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 19th American advertising with *Eagle, from the Birds of America seriesN4)*, produced by the pioneering tobacco Allen & Ginter in 1888. This petite commercial color lithograph (just 2 3/4 x 1 1/2 inches) designed as a collectible insert for cigarette packs, transforming everyday smoking into a treasure hunt for. Allen & Ginter, innovators in the trade card craze, drew inspiration from John James Audubon's iconic *Birds of America*, reimagining majestic birds like this soaring eagle as accessible pop culture icons. The artwork showcases the brilliance of chromoli...
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...