Wood Duck, from the Game Birds series (N40) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes
1888–90
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
63.350.202.40.49
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 19th-century advertising with *Wood Duck*, a charming chromolithograph from Allen & Ginter's Game Birds series (N40 produced between 1888 and 1890. This petite card, measuring just 2 7/8 x 3 1/4 inches, was inserted into cigarette packs as a promotional collectible, showcasing the striking plumage of the wood duck—a North American species prized by hunters and bird enthusiasts alike. Allen & Ginter, a tobacco firm, revolutionized marketing by pairing these cards with their products, sparking a collecting craze that blended commerce with natural history. Crafted ...
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...