Michael Le Basque, Each Man with a Prisoner, from the Pirates of the Spanish Main series (N19) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes

Art Historical Context

This colorful commercial lithograph, created around 1888 by George S. Harris & Sons for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes, belongs to the "Pirates of the Spanish Main" series (N19). Measuring just 1 ½ by 2 ¾ inches, the card depicts the pirate Michael Le Basque with a prisoner, capturing the dramatic and romanticized imagery that appealed to collectors of the era. Produced through color lithography, the print allowed for vibrant, affordable images that were inserted into cigarette packages as premiums. In the late nineteenth century, such trading cards blended advertising with popular entertainment, transforming everyday tobacco products into miniature galleries of adventure and history. The series drew on legends of Caribbean buccaneers, presenting swashbuckling figures in a style that mixed factual names with theatrical flair. These small prints helped popularize pirate lore for a broad American audience while showcasing the technical advances of commercial lithography. Today, this example from the Metropolitan Museum’s Burdick Collection highlights how ephemera can illuminate both artistic techniques and cultural tastes of the Gilded Age. Its survival in museum holdings reminds visitors that even modest advertising art played a role in shaping public imagination.

About the Artist

George S. Harris & Sons|Allen & Ginter (American|American) · | – |

American, Richmond, Virginia|American, Philadelphia