From the Girls and Children series (N64) promoting Virginia Brights Cigarettes for Allen & Ginter brand tobacco products 1886

This 1886 trade card from Allen & Ginter, a well-known tobacco company, is part of the “From the Girls and Children series” and features a young boy playing a flute against a backdrop of a flowering tree. This colorful card, measuring 2 5/8 × 1 1/2 inches, was likely part of a larger set of cards that were distributed with the company’s products. The use of a charming young boy in a pastoral setting was a common advertising tactic of the era, aiming to associate Virginia Brights cigarettes with wholesome and innocent imagery, while appealing to a wide audience. The card is currently housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.