Otter, from Quadrupeds series (N41) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes
Medium
Commercial color lithograph
Dimensions
Sheet: 2 7/8 x 3 1/4 in. (7.3 x 8.3 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
63.350.202.41.36
Tags
Art Historical Context
Behold the charming *Otter* from the *Quadrupeds* series (N41), a delightful 1890 commercial color lithograph produced by Allen & Ginter in collaboration with designers Lindner, Eddy &. Measuring just 2 7/8 x 3 1/4 inches, this petite print captures the sleek, playful form of the otter in vibrant hues, evoking the natural world's whimsy amid the Gilded Age's industrial buzz. As part of Allen & Ginter's innovative cigarette trade card series, these ephemera were tucked into cigarette packs to entice collectors and boost sales. Chromolithography, the era's breakthrough technique using multiple ...
About the Artist
Allen & Ginter|Lindner, Eddy & Claus
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...