Allen & Ginter was a tobacco company founded in Richmond, Virginia in 1865 by William Allen and William Ginter. While the company is no longer in business today, during the late 19th century they were one of the largest tobacco manufacturers in the United States. Allen & Ginter are best known for their innovative use of collectible inserts or “prizes” included in their cigarette packs and tobacco tins starting in the 1880s. These prizes helped popularize the concept of trading cards and build brand loyalty for the company.
Some of the earliest inserts included in Allen & Ginter packs were trade cards featuring famous actors, statesmen, authors and other notable personalities of the time period. It was their inclusion of sports stars in the late 1880s that helped pioneer the modern baseball card collecting hobby. In 1886, Allen & Ginter released their first series of cigarette cards featuring individual photos of baseball players from major league teams. This is considered the first widely distributed set of modern baseball cards.
Some of the biggest stars of the late 19th century included in the 1886 Allen & Ginter set were Jim O’Rourke, Buck Ewing, King Kelly, and Jim McCormick. The cards measured approximately 2.5 x 3 inches in size and featured individual black and white photos with no statistics or biographical information on the back. Production was limited, with estimates of only about 50-100 examples known to still exist today in collectible condition for some of the more rare cards. The rarity and historic significance of being among the first make Allen & Ginter baseball cards highly valuable to collectors and enthusiasts.
After the success of their 1886 baseball card inserts, Allen & Ginter continued to produce new sports card series in subsequent years up through the early 1890s. Their 1887-1890 sets featured additional baseball players and also included new sports like bicycling that were becoming increasingly popular at the time. The Allen & Ginter company carefully selected well-known stars as the subjects of their cards to help promote interest in both their tobacco products and the emerging sports themselves. Production remained relatively small compared to later baseball card releases, further adding to the appeal these early cards hold for collectors today.
In addition to their pioneering baseball cards of the 1880s, Allen & Ginter is also well-known for their elaborate and artistic 1891 set which featured ornate lithographed cards printed in multiple colors with team logos and player positions listed. While production was still limited, the high-quality design and production of the 1891 Allen & Ginter cards set a new standard that would influence the look of baseball cards for decades to come. Some notable HOF players included in this set were Cap Anson, Buck Ewing, and Amos Rusie. Examples from this series in top-graded condition have sold at auction for over $100,000 in recent years.
After 1891, Allen & Ginter continued producing various series of trade cards featuring topics like famous Americans, geography, and even individual playing cards. They did not issue any more baseball card sets for nearly a decade. In 1899, Allen & Ginter released their final series of baseball cards prior to the company’s dissolution. By this point, several other tobacco companies like Goodwin Champions and Mayo Cut Plug had begun regularly issuing baseball cards as well. As interest in collecting grew, Allen & Ginter sought to remain competitive by including another set of player photos in their cigarette and chewing tobacco products.
While Allen & Ginter ceased operations in the early 20th century, their innovations and the quality of their early baseball card releases secured their place as one of the most important companies in the origin of the baseball card collecting hobby. The rarity of surviving examples from the 1880s and 1890s coupled with the historic significance makes high-grade Allen & Ginter cards among the most valuable in the world today. Even over a century after their production, these early tobacco era cards continue to fascinate collectors and provide a window into the emergence of a beloved American pastime.
