Salmon, from Fish from American Waters series (N39) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes
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
63.350.202.39.29
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 19th advertising with *Salmon, from Fish from American Waters (N39)*, a charming commercial color lithograph produced in 1889 by Allen & Ginter in collaboration with lithographers Lindner, Eddy Claus. This petite card, measuring just 2 7/8 x 3 1/4 inches, was one of many collectible inserts bundled with Allen & Ginter cigarettes to entice smokers and spark a collecting craze. Part of a series celebrating North American aquatic life, it depicts a majestic salmon alongside men and boats, evoking the thrill of fishing in American waters. Chromolithography, the era'...
About the Artist
Allen & Ginter|Lindner, Eddy & Claus
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...