Honduras, from Flags of All Nations, Series 2 (N10) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes Brands
1890
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
63.350.201.10.19
Tags
Art Historical Context
This charming 1890 color lith captures the flag of Honduras as part of Allen & G’s “Flags of All, Series 2 a set of small trading cards inserted into cigarette packages. Produced by the Richmond-based tobacco firm, the card measures just 2¾ by 1½ inches, making it an accessible souvenir that encouraged collectors to assemble images of nations from around the world. At a time when global trade and travel were expanding, such cards brought distant countries into everyday American households through the popular ritual of smoking. The commercial color lithograph technique allowed vibrant hues and...
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...