Shaddock, from the Fruits series (N12) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes Brands
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
63.350.201.12.44
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the late 19th century, American tobacco companies like Allen &inter revolutionized marketing with colorful trading cards tucked into cigarette packs. This petite chromolithograph, *Shaddock* from the Fruits series (N12 dates to 1891 and exemplifies that clever strategy. Produced by the lithographers George S. Harris & Sons, the measures just 2¾ x 1½ inches, designed for easy collection and trading. It likely pairs a ripe shaddock—a large, tangy citrus fruit akin to a pomelo—with elegant female profiles, blending botanical illustration and subtle portraiture to captivate smokers and enthusia...
About the Artist
Allen & Ginter|George S. Harris & Sons
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...