King of Greece, from World's Sovereigns series (N34) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes
1889
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
63.350.202.34.20
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 19th-century advertising with *King of Greece, from World's Sovereigns seriesN34) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes*1889). Produced by the pioneering tobacco company Allen & Ginter, this commercial color lithograph—measuring just 2 3/4 x 1 1/2 inches—was designed as an insert for cigarette packs. These cards transformed smoking into a collector's hobby, enticing buyers with glamorous portraits of global royalty. Chromolithography, the medium here, allowed for vivid, mass-produced color printing that captured the king's regal portrait, complete with insignia evoking ...
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...