H.M. King of the Netherlands, from the Racing Colors of the World series (N22a) 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
63.350.201.22.47
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 19th-century ephemera with *H.M. King of the Netherlands* (N22a), a gem from Allen & Ginter's *Racing Colors of the* series, produced in 1888. This petite commercial color lithograph, just 2¾ x 1½ inches, was one of thousands of collectible cards tucked into cigarette packs to entice smokers and spark a collecting frenzy. Allen & Ginter, pioneering tobacco marketers, used these cards to showcase international horse racing culture, featuring jockey silks from Europe and beyond—here, evoking the royal racing colors linked to the Dutch monarchy during King William I...
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...