Rose-Combed Dorking Cock, from the Prize and Game Chickens series (N20) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes
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
63.350.201.20.34
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 19th American advertising with *Rose-Combed Dork Cock*, a charming chromolithograph from the 1891 *Prize and Game Chickens series (N20), issued by the pioneering tobacco firm Allen & Ginter. This tiny card, measuring just 1 1/2 x 2 3/4 inches, captures the majestic profile of a rose-combed Dorking rooster—a prized breed celebrated for its plump physique and ornate comb at poultry shows. Produced by The Gast Lithograph & Engraving Company, it was one of 50 cards tucked into cigarette packs to entice collectors and boost sales during the Gilded Age's trading card c...
About the Artist
Allen & Ginter|The Gast Lithograph & Engraving Company
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...