Song Sparrow, 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
63.350.202.37.40
Tags
Art Historical Context
Behold the delicate charm of *Song Sparrow* (1888), a gem from Allen & Ginter's *Birds of America* (N37), produced as a trade card for their popular cigarettes. This tiny commercial color lithograph, measuring just 2 7/8 x 3 1/4 inches, captures the song sparrow in vivid detail against a natural backdrop, evoking the spirit of John James Audubon's iconic ornithological illustrations while adapting them for everyday consumers. Chromolithography, the innovative printing technique used here, revolutionized mass-produced color imagery in the late 19th century. Allen & Ginter, pioneering tobacco m...
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...