Soldier, French Revolution, from World's Smokers series (N33) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes
1888
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
63.350.202.33.26
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 19th-century advertising with *Soldier, French Revolution*, a gem from Allen & Ginter's *World's Smokers* series (N33), issued in 1888. These chromolithographs—colorful prints produced through a meticulous layering of lithographic stones—were tucked into cigarette packs as collectible incentives, transforming everyday tobacco products into portals of historical fantasy. Allen & Ginter, pioneering American tobacco innovators, used such cards to captivate smokers and non-smokers alike, blending commerce with escapism during the Gilded Age. This 2¾ x 1½-inch card p...
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...