Irene Perry, from World's Beauties, Series 2 (N27) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes
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
63.350.201.27.20
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the late 19th century, cigarette manufacturers like Allen & Ginter advertising by inserting colorful collectible cards into their packs, sparking a craze among enthusiasts. This petite commercial color lithograph, *Irene Perry, from Beauties, Series 2 (N27)*, in 1888, exemplifies the trend. Measuring just 2¾ x 1½ inches, it was designed for easy trading and collecting, featuring the alluring portrait of Irene Perry amid a series celebrating feminine ideals of the era. Chromolithography, the medium here, allowed for vivid, multi-layered colors printed in mass quantities—a technological marv...
About the Artist
Allen & Ginter|Lindner, Eddy & Claus
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...