Papaw, 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
63.350.201.12.34
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 19th-century advertising with *Papaw, from the Fruits series (N) for Allen & G Cigarette Brands* (1891). This commercial color lithograph, just 2 3/4 x 1 1/2 inches, was produced by George S. Harris & Sons the pioneering tobacco company Allen & Ginter. Tucked into cigarette packs as collectible inserts, these cards sparked a collecting craze, blending promotion with whimsy. Depicting papaw (an early name for papaya) alongside playful motifs of girls and bows and arrows, it evokes exotic fruits and Victorian-era fantasy. Chromolithography, the medium here, was a ...
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...