Great Marbled Godwit, from the Game Birds series (N40) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes 1888 - 1890

This is a lithograph of a Great Marbled Godwit, printed by Allen & Ginter, a cigarette company, as part of their "Game Birds" series. These cards were included in cigarette packs, capitalizing on the popularity of collecting cards. The chromolithography process allowed for mass production of colorful images. The card has a smooth, almost glossy surface, the result of layering multiple colors to create a rich, detailed image of the bird in its natural habitat. Look at the house in the lower part of the card. It gives a glimpse into the commercial strategies of the late 19th century, when companies used images of birds as a kind of branding. The card’s visual appeal is inseparable from the commercial context for which it was made. The combination of ornithological illustration with the advertising of cigarettes collapses the divide between art and commercial design. It blurs the lines between collecting art and promoting consumption.