Olive, from the Fruits series (N12) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes Brands
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
63.350.201.12.32
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 19th advertising with *Olive, from the Fruits series (12) for Allen &inter Cigarettes Brands*1891). Produced by the pioneering tobacco company Allen & Ginter in collaboration with lithographers George S. Harris &, this petite commercial color lithograph (just 2 3/4 x 1 1/2 inches) was designed as a collectible insert for cigarette packs. Part of a popular series anthropomorphizing fruits—here evoking olive trees and graceful women—it captivated smokers and collectors alike, turning everyday purchases into a treasure hunt. Chromolithography, the era's breakthroug...
About the Artist
Allen & Ginter|George S. Harris & Sons
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...