Capitol of Wisconsin in Madison, from the General Government and State Capitol Buildings series (N14) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes Brands

Art Historical Context

Step into the world of 19th-century with this petite *Capitol of Wisconsin in Madison a vibrant commercial color lithograph from1889. Produced by Gast Lithograph & Engr Company for Allen & G Cigarettes' "General Government and State Buildings" series (N), it captures the grandeur of Wisconsin's state capitol in Madison. These tiny cards—measuring just 1 1/2 x 2 3/4 inches—were tucked into cigarette packs as stiffeners and collectibles, blending marketing savvy with educational flair during the Gilded Age. Chromolithography, the era's cutting-edge technique, allowed for vivid, multi-layered colors printed from stone plates, transforming simple ephemera into miniature artworks. Allen & Ginter, pioneers of the cigarette card craze, used such series to showcase patriotic architecture, fostering national pride amid rapid urbanization and state-building. This piece reflects that spirit, highlighting public monuments as symbols of progress. Today, housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department from The Jefferson R. Burdick Collection, it endures as a charming artifact of consumer culture and printing innovation—proof that even the smallest prints pack historical punch!

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...