Sneak Peak: Cigarette Cards in the Library

by Janet Woody, Librarian, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden

We will have something new on display in the Lora Robins Library beginning with Heritage Weekend. We received a generous donation of Allen & Ginter cigarette cards from Ben and Maureen Field. I am pleased to report that our talented and capable museum studies intern, Erica Borey, has framed the cards very attractively so that we can display them. We own 48 cards. Three cards have been framed with an open back so that the the text on the back of the card is visible.

World’s Smokers cigarette cards, 1888

Lewis Ginter was a master of marketing and promotion and wanted his Allen & Ginter brand of hand-rolled cigarettes to be the most popular on the market. He created the card to keep the fragile packs from being easily crushed. And he wanted to promote smoking. The series seen shown here is called World’s Smokers from 1888. Beautiful women were popular images portrayed on other series of cards, but sadly we do not have any cards with beautiful women.

Our talented and capable museum studies intern Erica Borey poses with the Reichenbachia display that she curated.

Also on display for Heritage Weekend will be an exhibit on the “Entrepreneurial Lewis Ginter”. Lucy Coggin, Victoria Waiton and I have had fun researching Ginter’s many business enterprises and will offer a display with images and a map showing his “empire”. This display will be in Bloemendaal during Heritage Weekend (April 13 & 14).