Frank R. O'Neil, The St. Louis Missouri Republican, from the American Editors series (N1) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes Brands
1887
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
63.350.201.1.36
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 19th-century American advertising with this charming chromolithograph from Allen & Ginter's *American Editors* series (N1), issued in 1887. Titled *Frank R. O'Neil, The St. Louis Missouri Republican*, it features portrait of the prominent newspaper editor, capturing his stern gaze and formal attire against a simple backdrop. At just 2¾ × 1½ inches, this petite print was designed as a collectible insert in cigarette packs, a clever marketing tactic by the tobacco company to build brand loyalty among smokers. Chromolithography, the medium here, revolutionized comm...
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...