Plumed Partridge, 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
63.350.201.13.34
Tags
Art Historical Context
Behold the delicate *Plumed Partridge* Allen & Ginter's *Game Birds* series (N13), a charming 1889 commercial color lithograph measuring just 1½ x 2¾ inches. Produced as inserts for cigarette packs, these tiny treasures were part of a burgeoning collecting craze in late 19th-century America Allen & Ginter, tobacco marketers, issued sets like this to entice smokers and hobbyists alike, turning everyday ephemera into coveted keepsakes that celebrated the natural world. Crafted via chromolithography—a vibrant printing technique that layered colors with precision—this card exemplifies the era's c...
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...