Samuel Bellamy, Wreck of the Whydah, from the Pirates of the Spanish Main series (N19) 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
63.350.201.19.2
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the swashbuckling world of 19th-century piracy through this tiny treasure: *Samuel Bellamy, Wreck of Whydah*, a commercial color lithograph from Allen & Ginter's *Pirates of the Spanish Main series (N19), issued around 1888. Produced by George S. Harris & Sons these pocket-sized cards (just 1 1/2 x 2 3/4 inches) were tucked into cigarette packs as clever marketing ploys, sparking a collecting craze among Americans during the Gilded Age. Allen & Ginter pioneered such ephemera, blending adventure tales with consumer culture to glamorize notorious figures like "Black Sam" Bellamy, the s...
About the Artist
George S. Harris & Sons|Allen & Ginter (American|American) · | – |
American, Richmond, Virginia|American, Philadelphia