Harrison, from the Great Generals series (N15) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes Brands

Art Historical Context

Step into the vibrant world of 19th-century advertising with *Harrison, from the Great Generals seriesN15)*, a diminutive commercial color lithograph by Allen & Ginter collaboration with George S. & Sons in 1888. Measuring just 2¾ x 1½ inches, this tiny card was designed as an insert for cigarette packs, part of a popular series celebrating American military heroes. Allen & Ginter, pioneers of the trading card phenomenon, used these ephemera to boost brand loyalty, enticing smokers with collectible portraits amid the post-Civil War fascination with generals. The subject, likely Civil War veteran and future U.S. President Benjamin Harrison, embodies the era's hero worship. Issued in the very year Harrison won the presidency, the card reflects a burgeoning consumer culture where everyday items doubled as history lessons. Chromolithography, the medium's star technique, enabled vivid, multi-color printing on a mass scale—affordable artistry that brought historical figures to life for the masses, far from the elite canvases of fine art. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Jefferson R. Burdick Collection, this piece highlights ephemera's cultural staying power. It reminds us how commerce and commemoration intertwined, turning pocket-sized prints into cherished artifacts of American identity.

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...