Black Frizzled Fowl, from the Prize and Game Chickens series (N20) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes

Art Historical Context

Step into the vibrant world of 19th ephemera with *Black Frizzled Fowl a charming chromolithograph from Allen & Ginter's * and Game Chickens* (N20), issued 1891. These cards (just 2¾ x 1½ inches) were tucked into cigarette packs as promotional inserts, sparking a collecting craze among smokers and hobbyists alike. Allen & Ginter, pioneering tobacco magnates, capitalized on America's fascination with prize poultry—exemplars of selective breeding in an era of agricultural innovation and county fairs. Produced by The Gast Lithograph & Engraving Company, this commercial color lithograph exemplifies the era's breakthrough in mass printing. Chromolithography layered vibrant inks to mimic hand-painted artwork, rendering the frizzled feathers of this distinctive black chicken with striking realism and sheen. Such techniques democratized colorful imagery, transforming everyday advertising into pocket-sized art. Today, housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Jefferson R. Burdick Collection, it highlights the intersection of commerce, culture, and collecting. These cards weren't just marketing; they fueled a burgeoning hobby that evolved into modern trading cards, preserving a slice of Gilded Age Americana for us to admire.

About the Artist

Allen & Ginter|The Gast Lithograph & Engraving Company

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...