Pintail Duck, from the Game Birds series (N13) 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
63.350.201.13.33
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 19th-century advertising with *Pintail Duck* from the *Game Birds* series (N13), by Allen & Ginter Cigarette Brands 1889. Produced collaboration with Philadelphia lithographers George S. Harris & Sons this petite commercial color lithograph (just 1½ x 2¾ inches) captures a majestic pintail duck amid delicate flowers, blending ornithological precision with decorative charm. Part of a popular set of collectible insert cards tucked into cigarette packs, it reflects the era's fusion of commerce and nature appreciation. Chromolithography, the medium here, was a groun...
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...