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

Art Historical Context

Step into the vibrant world of 19th-century advertising with *Papaw, from the Fruits series (N) for Allen & G Cigarette Brands* (1891). This commercial color lithograph, just 2 3/4 x 1 1/2 inches, was produced by George S. Harris & Sons the pioneering tobacco company Allen & Ginter. Tucked into cigarette packs as collectible inserts, these cards sparked a collecting craze, blending promotion with whimsy. Depicting papaw (an early name for papaya) alongside playful motifs of girls and bows and arrows, it evokes exotic fruits and Victorian-era fantasy. Chromolithography, the medium here, was a breakthrough technique allowing vivid, multi-color printing on a mass scale—perfect for eye-catching ephemera. Issued as part of the N12 Fruits series, it exemplifies how everyday trade cards captured public imagination, turning tobacco marketing into portable art. Housed in The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department from the Jefferson R. Burdick Collection, this piece highlights the cultural role of such prints in popularizing global produce and youthful allegories. A tiny window into Gilded Age commerce and collecting fervor!

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...