Mike, from World's Dudes series (N31) 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
63.350.202.31.5
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 1880s advertising with *Mike, from World's Dudes series (31) for Allen &inter Cigarettes*, a commercial color lithograph produced in 1888. This card, measuring just 2 3/4 x 1 1/2 inches, captures the essence of the Gilded Age's fashionable "dudes"—stylish, mustachioed gentlemen embodying the era's dandy culture. Allen & Ginter, pioneering tobacco tycoons, issued these collectibles inside cigarette packs to entice smokers and foster brand loyalty, transforming everyday purchases into treasure hunts. Chromolithography, the medium here, was a breakthrough technique...
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...