Plate 9, from the Fans of the Period series (N7) 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
63.350.201.7.9
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of Victorian collectibles with *Plate 9, from Fans of the Period seriesN7)*, a charming 1889 commercial color lithograph produced by Allen & Ginter in collaboration with Schumacher & Ett. This tiny gem, measuring just 2 3/4 x 1 1/2 inches, was one of a series of cards inserted into Allen &inter cigarette packs, sparking collecting craze among Americans eager for affordable art and novelty. Chromolithography, the medium here, revolutionized printing in the late 19th century by enabling vivid, multi-layered colors on a mass scale—perfect for eye-catching advertising....
About the Artist
Allen & Ginter|Schumacher & Ettlinger
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...