Farmer, 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
63.350.202.33.37
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 19th-century advertising with *Farmer, from World's Smokers series (N33, a charming commercial color lithograph produced by the pioneering tobacco company Allen & Ginter in 1888. Measuring just 2 3/4 x 1 1/2 inches, this petite print was designed as a collectible insert for cigarette packs, enticing smokers with colorful depictions of diverse figures enjoying their habit. Here, a sturdy farmer embodies rural American life, pipe in hand, capturing the era's romanticized view of tobacco as a wholesome pastime. Chromolithography, the medium's breakthrough technique...
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...