Polo, from World's Dudes series (N31) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes
1888
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
63.350.202.31.12
Tags
Art Historical Context
This charming commercial color lithograph from 1888 belongs to Allen & Ginter’s “World’s Dudes” series (N31), a set of small collectible cards inserted into cigarette packages. Measuring just 2 ¾ by 1 ½ inches, the card depicts a male polo player, reflecting the era’s fascination with fashionable sports and the leisurely pursuits of the upper class. Produced by the prominent Richmond tobacco firm Allen & Ginter, these cards turned everyday smoking into an opportunity for collecting and learning about global cultures and pastimes. Color lithography allowed the company to create vivid, affordab...
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...