Ostend, from the City Flags series (N6) 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
63.350.201.6.47
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 19th-century advertising with *Ostend, from the City Flags series (N6) for Allen & G Cigarettes Brands* (1887). This commercial color lithograph, measuring just 2¾ x 1½ inches, captures the flag of Ostend (modern-day Oostende, Belgium in bold, eye-catching hues. Produced by pioneering tobacco firm Allen & Ginter, was one of 50 cards in a popular series inserted into cigarette packs, sparking a collecting craze among enthusiasts worldwide. Chromolithography, the era's breakthrough printing technique, brought these tiny designs to life with stunning color accuracy...
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...