Serbia, from the Natives in Costume series (N16), Teofani Issue, for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes Brands

Art Historical Context

This small commercial color lithograph from around 1886 belongs to the “Natives in Costume” series (N16), produced by the tobacco firms Allen & Ginter and Teofani & Company. Originally issued as a cigarette card, the print was designed to be tucked into packs of cigarettes, turning an everyday product into a miniature collectible. Measuring just 2¾ by 1½ inches, it depicts a man in traditional Serbian dress, part of a broader effort to introduce consumers to the world’s diverse cultures through brightly colored, portable imagery. Color lithography allowed such cards to be printed quickly and affordably in large quantities, making art and geography accessible to a wide audience at a time when international travel was still rare. Allen & Ginter, one of the earliest American companies to include cards in cigarette packs, helped popularize the practice that would flourish for decades. Though created as advertising ephemera, these prints now offer vivid glimpses into late-nineteenth-century ideas of national identity and costume. Today the sheet resides in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Burdick Collection, where thousands of similar cards document both printing history and popular taste. Its modest size belies the rich cultural snapshot it preserves.

About the Artist

Allen & Ginter|Teofani & Company

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...