Peru, from Flags of All Nations, Series 1 (N9) 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
63.350.201.9.12
Tags
Art Historical Context
This vibrant chromolithograph, titled *Peru* from Allen & Ginter's *Flags of All Nations, Series 1 (N9)*, captures the Peruvian flag and coat of arms vivid reds, whites, and golds. Produced in 1887 as a collectible insert for Allen & Ginter cigarette packs, exemplifies the golden age of American tobacco trade cards. These tiny cards (just 2¾ x 1½ inches) were wildly popular, enticing smokers—especially children and enthusiasts—to buy more packs to complete sets, turning marketing into a cultural phenomenon. Allen & Ginter, pioneering tobacco innovators, employed advanced chromolithography, a ...
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...