Red Bird, Chippeway, from the American Indian Chiefs series (N2) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes Brands
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
63.350.201.2.44
Tags
Art Historical Context
Behold the striking portrait of *Red Bird, Chippeway*, a gem from the 1888 *American Indian Chiefs* seriesN2), produced by the pioneering tobacco company Allen & Ginter. These tiny commercial color lithographs—measuring just 2¾ × 1½ inches—were tucked into cigarette packs as collectible trading cards, blending advertising savvy with popular fascination for Native American leaders. Red Bird, a chief of the Chippewa (Ojibwe) people, is captured in regal profile, embodying the era's romanticized view of Indigenous nobility. Chromolithography, the innovative printing technique used here, revoluti...
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...