Tripoli, from Flags of All Nations, Series 2 (N10) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes Brands
1890
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
63.350.201.10.44
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of late 19th-century American advertising with *Tripoli, from Flags of Nations, Series 2N10)*, issued by the pioneering tobacco firm Allen & G in 1890. These tiny chromolithographs were tucked into cigarette packs as collectible inserts, sparking a craze among smokers and sparking global curiosity. Allen & Ginter, founded by tobacco magnates Lewis Ginter and John Allen, revolutionized marketing by blending education with promotion, producing series on everything from birds to world leaders. Crafted as a commercial color lithograph, this pocket-sized gem (just 2¾ x ...
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...