Red and Blue Macaw, from the Birds of the Tropics series (N5) 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
63.350.201.5.44
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the dazzling world of 19th American advertising with *Red and Blue Macaw a gem from the *Birds the Tropics* seriesN5) issued by & Ginter Cigarettes 1889. Produced the skilled lithographers George S. Harris & Sons this tiny commercial color lithograph (just 2¾ × 1½ inches) captures the macaw's vivid crimson and azure feathers in exquisite detail. These cards were tucked into cigarette packs as promotional inserts, sparking a collecting craze among enthusiasts and turning everyday tobacco products into gateways for natural history education. Chromolithography, the innovative printing ...
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...