Herring, from the Fish from American Waters series (N8) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes Brands 1889

This chromolithograph of a herring comes from a series of fish that the Allen & Ginter cigarette company included in their cigarette packs. The company, founded in Richmond, Virginia in 1875, was among the first to mass-produce cigarettes. Like other manufacturers, Allen & Ginter included collectible cards with their products as a marketing strategy. This card belongs to a set of fifty different images of fish found in American waters. The project tapped into a growing interest in natural history. But it also served to promote a leisure activity—fishing—associated with a rising middle class. The company was bought out in 1890 by the American Tobacco Company, a sign of the changing economic landscape of the Gilded Age. Looking at images like this helps us explore the relationship between commerce, leisure, and the creation of cultural values. Resources such as company records and marketing materials can help us better understand the social context in which these images circulated.