James Madison, from the Presidents of the United States series (N51) for Virginia Brights Cigarettes

James Madison, from the Presidents of the United States series (N51) for Virginia Brights Cigarettes

Allen & Ginter

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Trade cards from the "Presidents of the United States" series (N51), issued between 1855 and 1889 by Allen & Ginter to promote Virginia Brights Cigarettes. Full series consists of 22 cards.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

James Madison, from the Presidents of the United States series (N51) for Virginia Brights CigarettesJames Madison, from the Presidents of the United States series (N51) for Virginia Brights CigarettesJames Madison, from the Presidents of the United States series (N51) for Virginia Brights CigarettesJames Madison, from the Presidents of the United States series (N51) for Virginia Brights CigarettesJames Madison, from the Presidents of the United States series (N51) for Virginia Brights Cigarettes

The Department’s vast collection of works on paper comprises approximately 21,000 drawings, 1.2 million prints, and 12,000 illustrated books created in Europe and the Americas from about 1400 to the present day. Since its foundation in 1916, the Department has been committed to collecting a wide range of works on paper, which includes both pieces that are incredibly rare and lauded for their aesthetic appeal, as well as material that is more popular, functional, and ephemeral. The broad scope of the department’s collecting encourages questions of connoisseurship as well as those pertaining to function and context, and demonstrates the vital role that prints, drawings, and illustrated books have played throughout history.