Canada Goose, from the Game Birds series (N13) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes Brands

Art Historical Context

Step into the vibrant world of 19th marketing with *Canada Goose* from Allen & Ginter's Game series (N13), a tiny commercial color lithograph produced in 1889. Issued as collectible inserts in cigarette packs by the pioneering tobacco company Allen & Ginter, these captivated smokers and enthusiasts alike, turning everyday purchases into treasures. Printed by George S. Harris Sons, this 1 1/2 x 2 3/4-inch gem showcases a majestic Canada goose in exquisite detail, reflecting the era's fascination with ornithology and game hunting. Chromolithography, the medium here, revolutionized printing by enabling vivid, multi-layered colors on a mass scale—perfect for affordable ephemera. Allen & Ginter's series, part of their innovative trade card tradition, promoted their brands while educating on North American wildlife, blending commerce with natural history appeal. Today, housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Jefferson R. Burdick Collection, this print highlights ephemera's cultural role: a snapshot of Gilded Age consumerism, where art met advertising. Collectors prized these for their realism and rarity, offering a glimpse into how everyday objects fueled passions for birds and beyond.

About the Artist

Allen & Ginter|George S. Harris & Sons

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...