Pension Building in Washington, from the General Government and State Capitol Buildings series (N14) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes Brands
Medium
Commercial color lithograph
Dimensions
Sheet: 1 1/2 x 2 3/4 in. (3.8 x 7 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
63.350.201.14.6
Tags
Art Historical Context
This charming 1889 commercial color lithograph captures the imposing Pension Building in Washington, D.C., as part of Allen & Ginter’s “General Government and State Capitol Buildings” cigarette card series. Issued to promote the company’s cigarette brands, the tiny print—measuring just 1 ½ by 2 ¾ inches—shows the massive brick structure with its distinctive red-tile roof and fluttering American flags, reflecting the era’s pride in grand federal architecture. Produced by the Gast Lithograph & Engraving Company, the card exemplifies the vibrant color lithography that made mass-produced ephemera...
About the Artist
Allen & Ginter|The Gast Lithograph & Engraving Company
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...