Pouter Pigeon, from the Birds of America series (N37) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes
1888
Medium
Commercial color lithograph
Dimensions
Sheet: 2 7/8 x 3 1/4 in. (7.3 x 8.3 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
63.350.202.37.30
Tags
Art Historical Context
Behold the **Pouter Pigeon**, a chromolithograph from the *Birds of America* (N37), issued by the pioneering tobacco firm Allen & G in 1888. This petite print (just 2 78 x 3 /4 inches) captures the's distinctive puffed chest and plumage in vivid detail, a humble pigeon breed into a star of Victorian-era collectibles. Allen & Ginter, early innovators in cigarette marketing, tucked these cards into their cigarette packs to entice smokers and spark a collecting craze among enthusiasts of all ages. Crafted as a commercial color lithograph—a technique that revolutionized mass-produced color printi...
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...