Limes, from the Fruits series (N12) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes Brands

Art Historical Context

This charming commercial color lithograph from 1891 belongs to the “Fruits” series (N12) produced by Allen & Ginter, one of the leading American tobacco companies of the era. Printed by George S. Harris & Sons, the tiny card—measuring just 2¾ by 1½ inches—was designed to be slipped into cigarette packs as both advertisement and collectible. Its bright, crisp colors demonstrate the growing sophistication of color lithography, a technique that made vivid imagery affordable for mass distribution at the close of the nineteenth century. The card’s subject matter pairs limes with delicate profiles of girls, reflecting the Victorian taste for combining natural motifs with graceful female figures. Such imagery helped transform an everyday tobacco product into something appealing and even educational; collectors could assemble entire sets illustrating fruits, flowers, or flags. Today, these ephemeral pieces are valued as early examples of modern advertising art and as windows into popular visual culture of the 1890s. Preserved in the Metropolitan Museum’s Burdick Collection, the print reminds us how commercial ephemera once brought small moments of beauty and discovery into daily life.

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...