Scotland, from the Natives in Costume series (N16) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes Brands
1886
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
63.350.201.16.39
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of19th-century ephemera with *Scotland* from Allen & Ginter's *Natives in Costume* seriesN16), a diminutive chromolithograph produced in 1886. This tiny card (just 2¾ x 1½ inches) depicts a kilted Scottish man playing bagpipes, capturing the romanticized essence of Highland tradition. Issued as inserts in Allen & Ginter cigarette packs these cards served a dual purpose: stiffening fragile packages while sparking a collecting craze among smokers, much like modern trading cards. Chromolithography, the medium here, was a breakthrough in commercial printing, enabling v...
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...