Montana, from Flags of the States and Territories (N11) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes Brands
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
63.350.201.11.55
Tags
Art Historical Context
This charming chromolithograph, titledMontana, from Flags of the States Territories (N11)*, was produced in 1888 by the tobacco firm Allen & Ginter. part of a popular series of collectible cards inserted into cigarette packs, it celebrates the flag of Montana Territory—just one year before its admission as the 41st state in 1889. These diminutive prints (just 2¾ x 1½ inches) fueled a craze for trading cards, blending patriotism with commercial savvy during America's Gilded Age expansion westward. The medium, commercial color lithography (or chromolithography), was revolutionary for its time, ...
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...