Great Blue Heron, from the Game Birds series (N40) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes
1888–90
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
63.350.202.40.21
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 19th-century advertising with *Great Blue Heron* from Allen & Ginter's Game Birds series (N40 a commercial color lithograph produced between 1888 and 1890. Allen & Ginter, a American tobacco company, inserted these small cards into cigarette packs to stiffen packaging and entice collectors. Measuring just 2 7/8 x 3 1/4 inches, this ephemera captures the majestic Great Blue Heron exquisite detail, showcasing its elegant form amid natural surroundings—a nod to the era's fascination with ornithology and outdoor sports. Chromolithography, the innovative printing tec...
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...