Tooth Sword, South Sea Islands, from the Arms of All Nations series (N3) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes Brands
1887
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
63.350.201.3.17
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 19th-century advertising with *Tooth Sword, South Sea Islands*, a gem from Allen & Ginter's *Arms of All Nations series (N3), in 1887. These petite chromolithographs (2 3/4 x 1 1/2 inches) were tucked into cigarette packs as collectible trade cards, sparking a craze among smokers and sparking early trading card culture. Allen & Ginter, pioneering tobacco marketers, used these to showcase global weaponry, blending exotic allure with brand promotion. This card depicts a fierce "tooth sword" from the South Sea Islands—likely a Polynesian weapon crafted from shark o...
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...