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

Art Historical Context

Step into the vibrant world of 19th-century advertising with *Deer Ham, Ioway*, a colorful chromolithograph from Allen & Ginter's *American Indian Chiefs* seriesN36), issued in 1888. This petite card, measuring just 2 7/8 x 3 1/4 inches, captures the Ioway leader in traditional regalia, his stern gaze and feathered headdress rendered with striking detail. Produced as a promotional insert for Allen & Ginter cigarette packs, it exemplifies the era's "trade card" craze, where tobacco companies distributed collectible images to boost sales and captivate audiences. Chromolithography, the medium here, revolutionized commercial printing by layering vibrant colors through multiple stone plates, enabling mass production of eye-catching ephemera at low cost. Allen & Ginter, pioneers in this technique, created sets romanticizing Native American figures amid America's westward expansion, blending portraiture with exotic allure to appeal to a growing consumer market. Today, housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Jefferson R. Burdick Collection, this card highlights the intersection of commerce, culture, and collecting. It offers a window into how Indigenous leaders like Deer Ham were portrayed in popular media—often idealized yet stereotypical—preserving a slice of Gilded Age ephemera for modern reflection.

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...