Leslie Chester, from World's Beauties, Series 1 (N26) 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
63.350.201.26.10
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 19th-century advertising with *Leslie Chester, from Beauties, Series (N26)*, a commercial color lithograph produced by the pioneering tobacco firm Allen &inter in 1888. These diminutive cards—measuring just 2¾ x 1½ inches—were innovative inserts in cigarette packs, transforming everyday smokes into collectibles. Featuring the poised beauty Leslie Chester, likely a celebrated figure of the era, the card embodies the "World's Beauties"' celebration of feminine allure, reflecting Victorian ideals of elegance amid America's booming consumer culture. Crafted via chr...
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...