From the Dogs series (N47) for Virginia Brights Cigarettes
ca. 1888
Medium
Albumen photograph
Dimensions
Sheet: 2 3/4 x 1 3/8 in. (7 x 3.5 cm)
Classification
Photographs|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
63.350.203.47.5
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 19th-century advertising with *From the Dogs series (47) for Virginia Brights Cigarettes*, a diminutive albumen photograph produced by the pioneering tobacco firm Allen & G around 1888. Measuring just 2 3/4 x 1 3/8 inches, this tiny card was one of many inserted into cigarette packs, sparking a collecting craze among enthusiasts. Allen & Ginter, innovators in the trade card industry, created these ephemera to promote their Virginia Brights brand, blending commerce with popular pastimes like dog breeding and photography. Crafted as an albumen print—the dominant p...
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...