Iceland, from Flags of All Nations, Series 2 (N10) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes Brands

Art Historical Context

This charming 1890 color lithograph is one of many small cards issued by the American tobacco firm Allen & Ginter as part of its “Flags of Nations, Series 2” set. Measuring just 2¾ by 1½ inches, the card was originally inserted into cigarette packages to encourage brand loyalty and collecting. The simple yet vivid image presents Iceland’s flag against a neutral ground, allowing smokers around the world a quick glimpse of national symbols from distant countries. Color lithography made such commercial ephemera both affordable and visually appealing, transforming everyday packaging into miniature lessons in geography and heraldry. Allen & Ginter’s series capitalized on the era’s growing fascination with international trade and exploration, turning a humble tobacco premium into an early form of mass-market visual education. Today the card resides in the Metropolitan Museum’s Jefferson R. Burdick Collection, where it illustrates how 19th-century advertising materials have become valued records of both design history and cultural exchange.

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...