Java, from the Natives in Costume series (N16), Teofani Issue, for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes Brands

Art Historical Context

This small but vivid color lithograph from around 1886 belongs to the “Natives in Costume” series (N16) issued by Allen & Ginter, one of the leading American tobacco companies of the era. Printed by Teofani & Company, the card was included in cigarette packages as a colorful incentive for collectors. Measuring just 2¾ by 1½ inches, it depicts a man from Java in traditional attire, reflecting the late-nineteenth-century fascination with global cultures that tobacco firms turned into popular trading-card sets. Commercial color lithography allowed these images to be produced quickly and inexpensively, bringing bright, detailed pictures into everyday hands long before mass advertising or photography became commonplace. Though created as ephemera, the card now resides in the Metropolitan Museum’s Jefferson R. Burdick Collection, where it documents both the history of printmaking and the ways nineteenth-century commerce shaped public ideas about distant lands. Today the piece offers a glimpse into how ordinary objects can preserve cultural curiosity—and stereotypes—of their time, inviting viewers to consider the stories behind once-disposable souvenirs.

About the Artist

Teofani & Company|Allen & Ginter (American|British) · |1880 – |1940

American, Richmond, Virginia|British