British, Ioway, from the American Indian Chiefs series (N36) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes

Art Historical Context

This vibrant chromolithograph, titled *British, Ioway*, is part of Allen & Ginter's *American Indian Chiefs* series (N36), issued in 1888 as collectible trading cards packaged with cigarettes. Produced during the height of the "Wild West" era in American popular culture, these small prints (just 2 7/8 x 3 1/4 inches) captured portraits of Native American leaders, blending portraiture with exoticized depictions of men often shown with weapons like tomahawks or rifles. "British" refers to a chief of the Ioway tribe, one of over 50 figures in the series that fueled public fascination with Indigenous peoples amid U.S. westward expansion. The medium—commercial color lithography, or chromolithography—revolutionized mass printing in the late 19th century, allowing affordable, vivid reproductions with up to 30 layers of ink for striking reds, blues, and golds. Allen & Ginter, pioneering tobacco marketers, used these cards to boost sales, turning ephemera into coveted collectibles. Today, housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Jefferson R. Burdick Collection, it exemplifies how everyday advertising intersected with art. Culturally, the series reflects both admiration for Native resilience and problematic stereotypes, commodifying Indigenous imagery for commercial gain. A snapshot of Gilded Age consumerism, it invites reflection on how art and marketing shaped perceptions of America's diverse heritage.

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...