Yellow-breasted Chat, 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
63.350.202.37.50
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 19th-century advertising with *Yellow-breasted Chat* from the *Birds America* series (N), issued by the pioneering tobacco company Allen & Ginter in 1888. These petite chromolithographs were tucked into cigarette packs as collectible trade cards, a clever marketing ploy to entice smokers and foster brand loyalty. At just 2 7/8 x 3 1/4 inches, this card captures the lively yellow-breasted chat—a North American songbird—perched in vivid detail, evoking the naturalist spirit of John James Audubon's iconic ornithological works. Printed as a commercial color lithogra...
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...