Snow Bunting, from the Birds of America series (N37) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes
1888
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
63.350.202.37.38
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the late 19th century, American tobacco companies like Allen & G revolutionized marketing by inserting colorful trading cards cigarette packs, sparking a collecting craze among all ages. This vivid chromolithograph of a *Snow Bunting* (Plectrophenax nivalis), from the 1888 *Birds of America* series (37), exemplifies that innovation. Measuring just 2⅞ × 3¼ inches, these pocket-sized gems were designed for easy collection and trade, featuring meticulously rendered birds against natural backdrops to appeal to nature enthusiasts and budding ornithologists. Produced via commercial color lithogr...
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...