Mockingbird, from the Birds of America series (N4) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes Brands

Art Historical Context

Behold the vibrant *Mockingbird* from Allen & Ginter's *Birds of America* seriesN4), a delightful 1888 commercial color lithograph produced as a collectible insert for their cigarette packs. Measuring just 2 3/4 x 1 1/2 inches, this tiny gem captures the Northern Mockingbird in exquisite detail—perched elegantly with feathers fluffed and beak poised, against a subtle natural backdrop. Part of a popular 19th-century marketing trend, these cards turned everyday tobacco purchases into treasures for enthusiasts, sparking a collecting craze. Allen & Ginter, pioneering tobacco innovators, drew inspiration from John James Audubon's iconic *Birds of America* to create this N4 series, blending ornithological accuracy with eye-catching chromolithography. This technique allowed for bold, multi-layered colors printed in mass quantities, making fine art accessible to the masses. As ephemera, these prints reflect Gilded Age advertising's ingenuity, transforming product promotion into portable education on American wildlife. Today, housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Jefferson R. Burdick Collection—a monumental gift of over 30,000 cards—this piece highlights the cultural intersection of commerce, nature, and collecting. It reminds us how a simple mockingbird card bridged art and everyday life in Victorian America.

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...