Russian, 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
63.350.202.31.39
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 19th-century advertising with *Russian, from World's Dudes series (N) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes* (1888), a petite commercial color lithograph measuring just 2¾ x 1½ inches. Produced by the pioneering tobacco firm Allen & G, this card is one insert from a popular series celebrating stylish "dudes"—fashionable men from around the globe. The "Russian" figure likely embodies exotic stereotypes of the era, capturing international flair in a compact, eye-catching format designed to entice cigarette buyers. Chromolithography, the medium here, revolutionized mass pr...
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...