Nebraska, from Flags of the States and Territories (N11) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes Brands

Art Historical Context

Step into the vibrant world of19th-century American advertising with *Nebraska, from Flags of the States and TerritoriesN11)*, a diminutive chromolithograph produced by the pioneering tobacco firm Allen & Ginter in 1888. This tiny card—measuring just 2¾ x 1½ inches—was one of 50 in a popular series inserted into cigarette packs to entice collectors and boost brand loyalty. Allen & Ginter, led by innovative entrepreneurs, revolutionized marketing by transforming everyday smokes into treasure troves of colorful ephemera, capturing the spirit of a growing nation. The card proudly showcases Nebraska's essence through imagery of hardworking men tending cows amid state flags, evoking the rugged agricultural heartland of the Great Plains during westward expansion. This snapshot of rural labor and pioneer pride reflects America's post-Civil War optimism and statehood fervor—Nebraska had joined the Union just two decades earlier in 1867. Chromolithography, the era's breakthrough for affordable, vivid color printing, allowed mass production of these detailed scenes, blending commercial savvy with folk-art charm. Today, housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Jefferson R. Burdick Collection—a treasure trove of American prints—this ephemera highlights how everyday objects fueled collecting crazes and preserved cultural snapshots. A delightful window into Gilded Age ingenuity!

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...