Lance, from the Arms of All Nations series (N3) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes Brands
1887
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
63.350.201.3.16
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 19th-century advertising with *Lance, from the Arms of All series (N3)*, a diminutive yet dazzling commercial color lithograph produced by Allen & Ginter 1887. This tiny card, measuring just 2 3/4 x 1 1/2 inches, was one of many inserted into cigarette packs as collectible premiums, sparking a craze among smokers and children alike. Allen & Ginter, pioneering tobacco entrepreneurs, used these ephemera to promote their brands while showcasing global weaponry, blending commerce with cultural curiosity. Crafted via chromolithography—a cutting-edge technique layerin...
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...