Swindern's Love-Bird, from the Birds of the Tropics series (N5) 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
63.350.201.5.7
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 19th-century advertising with *Swindern's Loveird*, a charming chromolithograph from the *Birds of the Trop* series (N5), issued by Allen & Ginter in 1889. These petite cards, measuring just 2 3/4 x 1 1/2 inches, were tucked into cigarette packs as promotional inserts, transforming everyday tobacco products into gateways for collecting exotic natural wonders. Produced during the height of chromolithography's popularity, this piece captures the iridescent plumage and affectionate gaze of the Swindern's love-bird—a tropical parrot native to African rainforests—show...
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...